Dinner At 1650 Restaurant, Ye Olde Bell, Barnby Moor
Published On Tuesday 23 May 2017 by Sticky Beak
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The Man Bird and I have occasionally flown over the county border as you know, and last night saw us in the lovely county of Nottinghamshire in the rather delightful sounding Ye Olde Bell at Barnby Moor near Retford.
It is a magnificent 17th century Hotel that really came into its own with the birth of the postal service in 1635 when it became one of the more important stop points along the London-Edinburgh route. As you step through its reception doors you step back into the faded grandeur of luxury establishments, with its tiled fireplace, leaded windows and squishy leather sofas and chairs.
In total there are 59 rooms, suites and lodges in the hotel; we had a peek in to a couple of the suites which are fitted with period furniture, roll-top baths, and sumptuous heavy fabrics. Every modern convenience is carefully hidden away until needed by the occupants. There are country pursuit prints and artwork on the walls wherever you look which enhance the relaxed, homely feel of the building, and a wonderfully imposing horse statue to one side of the stairs.
The young lady on reception guided us to where we had our table reservation and we were seamlessly handed over into the charming hands of Restaurant Manager, Mike.
Mike led us over to the chic Art-Deco bar area and we ordered a couple of drinks before dinner; a cheeky glass of Malbec for me, a pint of Amstel lager for His Nibs. On the bar top were coupe glasses filled with whole Hazelnuts and roasted Almonds, so I had a nibble at them whilst I perused the menu and specials board.
A quick glance around let me appreciate the true splendour of the restaurant; its wood panels were a deep amber colour, gently enhanced by the light from the ornate chandeliers. Natural light is allowed to seep through the monochrome striped blinds and you can just see the diamonds of the leaded windows behind them.
Chef Tim Stamp has created a wonderfully diverse menu using only fresh local produce; recently this has been awarded a Rosette for culinary excellence by the AA. In addition to the restaurant bar 1650 there are the St Leger Bistro-by-the-Bar and Garden Terrace areas to enjoy food and drink in.
Owners Paul and Hilary Levack are also opening their Spa at the 4 star Ye Olde Bell Hotel on June 1st 2017, promising guests the last word in luxurious, multi-sensory relaxation and world-class Hair and Beauty treatments. Bookings are being taken currently on 01777 705121.
Mike took our food order at the bar before escorting us to our table, laid out with black tablecloth, pristine cutlery and white napkins artfully modelled into dinner jackets. Our chairs were placed for us and napkins were gently folded in our laps. A cooler was brought to the table to house our still spring water, some of which was poured into our ice and lemon containing glasses.
Another staff member brought out a platter of Guinness bread and Focaccia, with pots of Cracked Black Pepper butter and Balsamic Vinegar and Extra Virgin Olive oil on the side for us to nibble on.
For starter I had chosen the pan seared Scallops, Squash Risotto, Sea herbs and smoked wine cream; His Nibs opted for the Honey roast Pork Belly, Girolles and Pear Cider gel. When our food arrived it was breath-takingly presented, almost to the point of being too pretty to eat.
The Man Birds’ Pork Belly was exceptionally tender with a lovely depth of flavour to it; the skin had been reduced to crackling that in turn was fashioned into bite-size popcorn pieces. Girolle mushrooms lent their wonderful rich, earthy note to the dish that paired lovely with the flavour of the pear cider gel.
My Scallops and risotto were showcased in a scallop shell and placed on a rippled glass platter that looked like frozen sea waves; just gorgeous. The Scallops themselves were large, meaty numbers that had been seared to within a millisecond of perfection, all the better to appreciate their firm texture and gently sweet flesh.
A creamy risotto contained small cubes of nutty butternut squash that just retained a hint of their texture and their sweeter character was enhanced all the more by the addition of Samphire’s salty tang and crunch.
Mike was happy to hear of our pleasure with both dishes as he came to refill our water glasses, and a little while later he came to clear our empty plates away.
His Nibs decided to have the Lamb Cannon, Potato fondant, candied Carrot, Broad Beans, and Mint gel for his main course (with some Maris Piper chips as an extra) and I fancied the sound of the grilled Lemon Sole, hot Smoked Salmon croquette, Leek, and Pea sauce; I ordered the Olive, Red Pepper and Red Chard salad on the side too.
The delicate rounds of Lamb Cannon were perfectly pink, very tender and tasty, and had been nicely seasoned on their edges.
Normally the Potato fondant comes as one round, but at Ye Olde Bell the Chef prefers to serve them as mini rounds and I have to say that these do look more visually appealing on the plate. The candied Carrots were a trio of different hues and cooked to retain their natural sweetness and texture, and the baby Broad beans were delicious too.
A separate little pan of rich jus enabled The Boy Wonder to add his perfect amount onto his plate whilst allowing him to dunk his chips discreetly. As you would expect, the chips were lovely and pillowy inside, full of the distinctive taste and texture of Maris Piper potatoes (widely regarded as THE potato for chipping), and beautifully crunchy outside.
I love fish when it’s done skilfully and my Lemon Sole fillets were incredibly juicy and full of their delicate flavour and texture; the flakes just melted on my tongue in clouds of sweetness. The Salmon croquette married the smoky Salmon with soft potato very well and the crumb coating was perfectly crunchy. Baby leeks had been carefully cooked to keep their texture whilst wilting them enough to warm them thoroughly.
Add a sublimely sweet Pea sauce that combined the pureed vegetable and whole garden peas so that Summer was dancing merrily away in my mouth, and you get the picture of a symphony of deliciousness that I was experiencing.
The salad also deserves special mention. This little gem was not only a rainbow of colours to behold, but the variety of tastes and textures proved that salads can come into their own glory when a smidge of thought is given to them. The Red Peppers had been roasted, de-skinned and sliced so that they were lovely and soft, and bursting with flavour.
Green Olives were joined by their Black and Calamata cousins, ensuring that all the subtle Olive tastes were represented, and superbly fresh Red Chard added the perfect crunch to the dish, keeping the palate interested. There was no need for any dressing; this salad was quality enough to stand on its own two feet.
After two marvellous courses there was no way on this planet that I was going to pass up pudding, no Siree.
I should confess that I had pretty much picked out my dessert at the get-go whilst nibbling on the Hazelnuts and Almonds at the bar, so when Mike asked what I had chosen I stated “the Apricot Mousse, Poached Apricot, Bee Pollen, and Honey Ice cream please”. The Man Bird chose the Blackcurrant Bavarois, Raspberry jelly, Lemon Shortbread, Drambuie.
My mousse was light-as-air and filled with the delicate perfumed flavour of Apricot, further enhanced by the poached Apricot slices that had been sugar-glazed. Artfully arranged crumbs of pollen adorned the plate and the top of the mousse rondelles, along with tiny Nasturtium flowers.
I loved the mellow taste of the Honey Ice Cream and the crunch from Honeycomb pieces was great too. None of the elements outshone the other which is hard to achieve when you’re working with quite subtle notes, but Chef Tim achieves it very skilfully.
The Man Birds’ Bavarois had a lovely firm-but-sponge like texture to it and was neither too tangy nor too sweet, which was the same character of the Raspberry jelly. Both fruits came alive on the palate to both refresh and delight it, and the buttery, crumbly Lemon shortbread simply added another layer to the fruit representation in this dessert, as well as lending a textural element on the tongue.
Drambuie-soaked fresh Blackberries adorned the top of the Bavarois, although not for long as they soon disappeared into His Nibs’ tummy! The intense flavour of freeze-dried Raspberry pieces bounced around like Tigger on the tongue, assuaged a little by the creamy Vanilla Ice Cream.
The entire meal had been crazily good without any eye-watering price tags in sight; the most expensive item of our meal was His Nibs’ Lamb Cannon at £22. You get a lot of food for your money as well; our tums were fit to burst after the three courses.
Two weddings were in full swing for their evening revelries, but the buildings’ solid walls contain the noise most efficiently and the most we knew about the proceedings were the gorgeously attired bridesmaids making their way to fetch something from their rooms.
Each suite for celebrations has access to its own private bar and lavatories, as well as private garden access too, so neither wedding knew of the others existence where it mattered.
All too soon we had finished our coffees and it was time to return back to the ‘shire. There aren’t many places that I would be willing to travel 30 miles to go and eat at, but restaurant bar 1650 at Ye Olde Bell,
Barnby Moor is definitely one of them. It really is worth going to experience it for yourself, and if you go after June 1st 2017, you could always combine it with a Spa session and maybe an overnight stay too. If the Spa is the same standard as the food, then it will be something rather special.
Hot Wings very much deserved by the whole team at Ye Olde Bell, Barnby Moor, Nottinghamshire :)
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