I am literally hanging my head in shame as I type this, so don’t come for me, ok? In all honesty, I didn’t realise that it had quite been so long since The Man Bird and I had last been to The Family Tree at Whatstandwell – it’s been years!! The reason for this particular visit was that we were scouting for somewhere to fuel-up before heading over to Darwin Forest Holiday Park for our annual short break with Bestie Bird and her flock.
The Family Tree is located on a corner road junction at the bottom of a fairly steep descent, and the car park is on the opposite side of the road. You certainly have to have your wits about you, both for parking in the car park (which was ram-a-lam-a-ding-dong full!) and for crossing over – consider yourselves warned.
One side of the venue was chockful of folks indulging in a festive menu, but we managed to grab a table on the other side. The Family Tree is fully dog-friendly and there was a stunning fur-baby at an adjacent table whose manners were to die for. In fact, he was so good that his Mummy ordered a sausage for him – how fab is that? Our server informed us that there was a little wait on food due to the size of the other party, but to be honest we didn’t mind: holiday mode had been activated, so full-on chill was the order of the day, aided further by the arrival of some quite magnificent Hot Chocolates.
There is a decent selection of hot and cold dishes to choose from, and I opted for the scrummy-sounding Steak, Stilton, Caramelised Onion, Tomato and Rocket Baguette that comes with a dressed Salad, Coleslaw and Skinny Fries (£13.50); His Nibs fancied the sound of The Family Tree Burger that comes with Cheese and Bacon, Iceberg Lettuce, Tomato and Burger Relish and is paired with Gourmet Chips, Onion Rings, dressed Salad and Coleslaw (£14.50).
As it happened, the wait really wasn’t that much longer that you’d expect as standard, and we were soon tucking in enthusiasticall. My baguette was lovely and fresh, the bread nicely springy to the bite, and I was filled with happiness to see such a generous amount of Steak pieces tucked inside. The meat was tender and flavoursome, pairing perfectly with the robust tang of melted Stilton cheese. Adding a sublime note of sweetness were the softened, Caramelised Onions; these seemed to intensify both the Steak and the Stilton’s characters, of which I heartily approved! Juicy slices of Tomato were a nice, cool contrast to the warm elements of the baguette, and the Rocket was bright and peppery on the palate. This was a beautiful lunchtime choice in itself, but the dressed Salad was crisp and fresh, the Coleslaw crunchy, and the Skinny Chips hot and nutty-tasting, making this a magnificent meal. Bravo, me, for my choice.
His Nibs’ burger was also rather blooming fabulous, according to him! A great start was had by the fact that the team had lightly toasted the burger bun (nothing worse than a soggy one), and the sizeable Beef patty was pleasingly dense in texture and seriously rich in taste. Bringing even more depth to the flavour profile were slices of proper farmhouse Bacon and a tangy Cheddar Cheese that had melted to that irresistible ‘oozy’ point – I was drooling at the sight of it from across the table! Try as I might, The Man still cannot be persuaded to leave the slice of fresh Tomato in his burger ensemble, so that got passed over to me; one day, I will break him, though. Crisp Iceberg Lettuce was cool to the bite, bringing its unique ‘blank canvas’ taste to the dish.
The Man Bird does like Onion Rings, and these particular ones really were super: crunchy, non-greasy outers and softened Onion middles that were very tasty. Where I had Skinny Fries with my dish, His Nibs had more robust (i.e. chunky) Gourmet Chips with his Burger, and they popped in the mouth all-too-easily thanks to being earthy and nutty, with pillow soft inners and crisp outers. The dressed Salad was the same as mine; a combination of Mixed Leaves, Cherry Tomatoes, and Cucumber all drizzled with a zingy Honey Mustard dressing, and the Coleslaw was the same tremendously crunchy, homemade one that I’d savoured.
All in all, you couldn’t ask for a better start to a long weekend away; respect again to His Nibs for suggesting we revisit this great family-run Daytime Restaurant and Bed-and-Breakfast. Hot Wings very happily given again to this Whatstandwell venue. I will endeavour not to be a plonker and leave it years before our next visit!
The Family Tree takes bookings for groups of 10+ people, Afternoon Tea, and the Sparkling Breakfast, operating on a walk-in basis for all other guests.
Open seven-days-a-week, 9am-5pm, food is served until 3.30pm. To book a table call 01773 425915, or visit the website www.thefamilytreederbyshire.co.uk; you can also book accommodation by both means.
