Dinner At The Mill Street Pub & Kitchens, Oakham
Published On Tuesday 10 Jan 2017 by Sticky Beak
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The boy wonder and I were invited down to Mill Street Pub and Kitchen to stay with them in one of their boutique guest rooms and have dinner that evening and breakfast the following morning.
We checked in, had a walk around Oakham then returned to our superb room and freshened ourselves up. We made our way down for dinner at 7.30pm and were shown to our table by Chris the Manager. The Orangery style extension was already throng with plenty of diners, including one party of about a dozen members.
Additional to this there is also a wonderful private dining room, complete with hanging chandelier, that accommodates up to a dozen people and is available to hire free of charge as well as an arch ceilinged, brick walled downstairs dining area. In total, I would estimate that Mill Street Pub and Kitchen could cater for about 100 covers at a time.
A jolly pleasant young man informed us about that days specials and brought us some rustic breads with Mrs Middletons Rapeseed oil and Balsamic vinegar to dip into. The breads were warm and gave of some wonderful smells that got my juices flowing just nicely; Pumpkin seed, Tomato and Onion swirl (which was a-ma-zing) and Black Olive bread.
The conversation was flowing gently as we munched the breads and took in the finer points of our dining area. I loved the wooden flooring as it had been laid in varying natural tones to give a striped effect which I thought was very striking.
The stone walls had been painted a calming grey shade and accents of turquoise and burnt orange were provided by the scatter cushions on the back of the banquette seats. A shabby chic, 70’s nod was given thanks to the mix and match chairs on the other side of the wooden tables, so the overall effect was lovely and relaxed.
For starter I ordered the Smoked Haddock Kedgeree with Quails eggs and His Nibs had the Venison Scotch Egg with House brown sauce. They were both presented nicely and we tucked in with our usual gusto.
My kedgeree was beautifully seasoned and the rice had been cooked perfectly, retaining just a little firmness to the bite. Plentiful flakes of flavoursome haddock were interspersed amongst the rice and the Quails eggs were gorgeous; soft boiled just enough so that their gloriously rich yolks oozed out over the rice and fish when you cut into them. I totally enjoyed every mouthful and silently congratulated myself on choosing such a superb starter.
The Man Bird has a bit of a penchant for Scotch Eggs, especially my Mummy Birds, saying he’s never eaten a better one than that she makes. Venison is his favourite meat, so the combination of ingredients was his idea of gastro bliss.
He cut into the crispy coated meat to encounter something he wasn’t expecting at all, a runny yolk; the version my Mummy Bird makes uses hard boiled eggs in the centre, not soft boiled ones. His verdict was that the Scotch egg was delicious! It had a marvellously crisp, fried crumb outer that had no hint of greasiness whatsoever and a layer of rich minced venison meat covering the egg.
The house brown sauce was its perfect partner with a deep, slightly sweet yet spicy taste that stood up to the venison and rich egg yolk flavours really well. He wished the portion size was double due to its moreish-ness, but said that it was incredibly filling as it was, so perhaps it was a case of eyes being bigger than the belly!
Our main courses consisted of the roast Chicken breast with Ham hock, Barley and Leeks for The Man, and roast Pheasant breast with spicy Puy Lentils, crispy hens’ egg and Jus from the specials board for me. We also ordered sides of Heritage potatoes with Chive cream, crushed roots with Honey and Thyme, and Cabbage and Bacon to have alongside the main dishes.
Again, both meals had been carefully placed on the serving plates and garnished artfully so that they were pleasing to behold, as well as to taste. My Pheasant was beautifully moist, and was a decent sized breast with a superb gamey flavour that I really like.
The meat was nestled on a very generous portion of sublimely spiced lentils and butter beans that exploded warmly on the palate. Combined with a wonderfully creamy egg, the whole dish was comfort food at its finest. I didn’t have any of the Heritage potatoes, but the crushed roots (Carrot, Parsnip and Swede) weren’t too sweet and had a fab hint of Thyme that came through nicely.
The Savoy cabbage was still just crunchy to give some texture to the meal and the crispy julienne strips of bacon imparted their delicious sweetness throughout this side dish.
The Boy Wonders chicken was mouth-wateringly moist and juicy and was perched on a deep bed of creamy barley grains (risotto like in consistency), that had generous amounts of Ham hock chunks and leek ribbons swirled in it. Crispy shards of leek adorned the top of the chicken breast and these gave a pleasing crunch when bitten into. A lively peppery seasoning had been given to the barley to lift its plainness, but it wasn’t overpowering at all.
The Heritage Potatoes had a superb firm texture to them and a lovely natural flavour that was enhanced by a subtle cream and Chive dressing. Not many of those beauties went back to the kitchen, let me just say!
Our server was very pleased to hear that we were enjoying our food immensely, and said he would pass our comments on to Head Chef Nathan Greensmith. The kitchen team at Mill Street Pub and Kitchen are definitely “feeders”, so you need to bring an appetite with you when you come to dine that is for sure.
At this point in time our bellies were bulging a fair bit against the confines of our clothes but the lure of pudding was too great to resist. Earlier in the evening we had seen and smelt a dish of warm Treacle tart go past our table and we were both hanging our noses after this for our dessert. In the event, His Nibs had the Treacle tart with Brown Butter Ice Cream and I had the Baileys Crème Brulee with Cocoa Nib Shortbread.
To directly quote my verbally succinct husband the Treacle Tart was “bloody lovely”. A nice, firm pastry base was topped with a rib-ticklingly comforting treacle filling that whilst sweet, wasn’t cloying in the slightest. The ice cream contrasted brilliantly against the warm tart, imparting its own lightly nutty flavour to the dessert and the final textural component was provided by chopped nuts.
The Bailey Crème Brulee was exactly as described; a rich crème with the Baileys liqueur very much in evidence. As I whacked the sugar top and was rewarded with that sweet cracking sound I did a little happy dance inside my head, and all was right with the worldJ.The crème was rich and dense, so the light crumbly texture of the Cocoa Nib Shortbread circles was a welcome contrast on the palate. I had to concede defeat and leave some of the crème Brulee; I honestly couldn’t have fitted another nano morsel in my tummy!
Instead of our normal latte coffees after dinner, we decided to head back up into the relaxed bar area and have a couple of Gin and Tonics. Two large goblet glasses were brought over to us that had plenty of ice in them, a generous wedge of Lime and a scattering of fresh Juniper berries which I thought was a superb way of presenting the drinks.
The bar is very well stocked and the bartender certainly knows his craft, keeping everything spotless and orderly as he concocted all manner of drinkable delights for our fellow diners. Mill Street Pub and Kitchen treats its drinks with the same level of respect it gives to its food and frequently changes the cocktails available according to the seasons.
This keeps its customers guessing as to what they can expect, giving freshness to the menus that keeps everyone on their toes. I should mention that manager Chris, as well as having a degree in event management, also worked for 5 years in a cocktail bar (I’m humming a 1980’s song now, bet you are too!) so it’s no wonder that the drinks standard is so high.
We headed back to our room full of laughter and cheer and sank into the cloud of a mattress and drifted off to the land of nod in no time at all. You can read all about the accommodation here.
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