Following on from our adventures eating around Bruges in Belgium, we flew to England and hired a car to get around. After visiting friends in Telford, we drove down to Bath and stayed a couple of nights.
I learnt some new lingo – a ‘cream tea’ which appears on most menus in the UK is basically scones, jam and cream, with tea.
Sally Lunn’s Eating House
One of my first stops was at Sally Lunn’s Eating House established in 1680 and is apparently the oldest house in Bath.
The menu provides an overview of the bunns (not a spelling error) which can be sweet or savoury (there’s a secret recipe), and goes into bunn etiquette. Half bunns are usually served and you need to specify if you want both a top and bottom bunn. There is a lot on the menu and it’s actually difficult to choose something.
I ordered the Bath Cream Tea (7.98£) which comes with a Sally Lunn blend of tea, while Mr FPJ ordered a Sally Lunn Pale Ale.
The Bath Cream Tea comes with a half toasted bunn topped with cinnamon butter and served with jam and clotted cream. It’s basically a piece of toasted bread that’s slightly sweeter than regular bread, so I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. Perhaps I should have tried the scones instead.
We also tried the steak and mushroom trencher (13.98£) which is cooked slowly in an old English ale gravy. A ‘trencher’ is a type of bread that was used before the invention of plates to hold food. The menu states it was invented around the year 1500. This trencher is of course one- half of a Sally Lunn bunn. The stew is magnificent with the most tender beef and delicious gravy. We are both really happy with this choice and polish it off quickly.
The eating house has a small museum downstairs showing what the place looked like originally.
The Bath Bun Tea Shoppe
Opposite Sally Lunn’s is The Bath Bun Tea Shoppe which I was happy to check out on my own while Mr FPJ found somewhere to watch the Formula 1.
I order the traditional Bath bun tea (5.30£) which comes with a classic Bath bun, cornish butter and a choice of tea. The bun looks nice with some dried raisins on top and a soft sheen from the glazing. But the bun is completely dry and stale. I take a few bites but leave the rest on the plate. It’s a complete waste of money. The Sally Lunn Bunn is by far superior.
Beercraft
Beercraft is along one of the main streets in Bath on the bridge, and we stopped in to check out the local craft beers.
There is a huge variety of beers inside and a few tasters of beer at the counter.
Mr FPJ orders a beer (can’t remember which one) and I order a non-alcoholic beer from Big Drop Brewing Co (0.5%) to enjoy outside. We did wonder if the beers would be warm as the shelves are not refrigerated, however Beercraft have this wonderful spinning contraption that makes your beers cold in just a few minutes.
The Huntsman
I wanted to try out an English pub for dinner and we settled on The Huntsman in the middle of town.
As it happened to be a Sunday night, we were both happy to order from the Sunday Roast menu. I choose the traditional Sunday roast with lamb, roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding. I’m going to add that it’s my very first time eating a Yorkshire pudding! The meal is tops and I love the tender lamb, and smothering of gravy. Not sure about the fried kale – I would have preferred beans or some other greens.
Mr FPJ couldn’t make up his mind and asked the waiter for his suggestion. The waiter recommended the pumpkin option (vegetarian) so he went with that, but soon regretted it. I actually didn’t mind the pumpkin and fetta roll with roasted carrots and mashed pumpkin, but Mr FPJ is not a fan.
Koffman & Mr White’s English French Brasserie
While in Bath, I couldn’t resist trying out a Marco Pierre White restaurant. In this case, it’s a joint venture with his mentor Pierre Koffman. There are only a handful of people dining in on a weekday so we basically had the place to ourselves.
Mr FPJ started off with a Gem amber ale, a local beer from Bath Ales.
I want to order the 3-course prix fixe lunch set – a starter, main and dessert for 17.50£ which is pretty cheap! Mr FPJ isn’t too hungry and decides to stick with one main dish from the a la carte menu, that way we can share the prix fixe starter and dessert. The are options for each starter, main and dessert. For the starter, we try the garden pea and ham soup which arrives in an enormous soup bowl. I’m glad we decided to share as there’s no way I could have finished that entire bowl to myself. It is more than enough between two and then some. It is also the BEST pea and ham soup I’ve ever had the pleasure of trying. It’s the right ratio and balance of pea and ham in a creamy yet light soup. Perfection.
The prix fixe main is a corn-fed chicken breast, with mash and peas a la Francaise. Succulent juicy chicken swimming in a rich and umami-filled gravy. A simple chicken dish but executed extremely well.
We order Marco’s signature fillet steak with leaf spinach, wild mushrooms, garlic butter and soft herbs (32.50£) from the a la carte menu. The steak is cooked to perfection – deliciously soft and medium rare. I’m really happy with the dish.
We also order a side of beef fat chips (3.95£) which I think could have stayed in the fryer for just a few more seconds to get a more golden colour and crunch on the outside. They are a little crispy but on the edge of soft.
We choose the strawberry cheesecake with raspberry sorbet from the prix fixe desserts. Again, such a wonderful dish. The cheesecake is so smooth and not too sweet and sugary. The sweetness comes from the sorbet instead. Beautiful balance and a striking dish.
We would both go back to Koffman & Mr White’s, especially for the great value prix fixe menu available on weekdays only.
The Raven of Bath
On our last night in Bath, we head to another English pub for dinner. This time we dined in at The Raven of Bath which received some good reviews online. We made it in just before the kitchen closed for the night.
I start off with a ginger beer, while Mr FPJ chooses another local beer.
Hot pies are a staple on the menu and we are both in the mood for pie. All pies come with a choice of chunky fries or mash, and three types of gravy.
I choose the Raven Ale pie with beef, onion, carrots, Raven Ale, green peppercorns and thyme (11.20£) with chunky fries and Raven Ale and red onion gravy. The Brits sure know how to do a brilliant pie. I love that it comes absolutely swimming in hot gravy. The pie filling is magnificent – soft and tender beef, some vegetables with a nice pie crust, and crunchy chips. A great meal.
Mr FPJ chooses the Fungi Chicken pie with free range chicken, chestnut and field mushrooms in a creamy sauce, served with mash, red wine gravy, and ordered a side of mushy peas (extra 1.80£). Again, a delicious filling and so much gravy!
Apart from visiting the baths in Bath, the main reason for our short stay was to visit Stonehenge (an easy 1 hour drive away). It was well worth it as we got to enjoy the small town of Bath as well as the magnificent Stonehenge.
Next, we drive to Maidenhead in the UK to try out my bucket list restaurant, Heston’s The Fat Duck!
Eateries visited
- Sally Lunn’s Eating House – 4 N Parade, Passage, Bath BA1 1NX, United Kingdom
- The Bath Bun Tea Shoppe – 2 Abbey Green, Bath BA1 1NW, United Kingdom
- Beercraft – 3 Argyle St, Bath BA2 4BA, United Kingdom
- The Huntsman – 1 Terrace Walk, N Parade, Bath BA1 1LJ, United Kingdom
- Koffman & Mr White’s English French Brasserie – Abbey Hotel, N Parade, Bath BA1 1LF, United Kingdom
- The Raven of Bath – 7 Queen St, Bath BA1 1HE, United Kingdom
Previous posts from this European holiday
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