Big flavours, great value and no fuss
TRYING every single establishment owned by the Sir John Fitzgerald group? Yes, that most certainly is on the Eats’ bucket list
Well, at the very least it’s on mine - I can’t necessarily speak for She Who Must Be Fed. On saying that, as long as there’s a decent Sunday dinner on offer, she’s unlikely to complain (at least not too much).
The Manor House, The Ridley Arms and The Twin Farms - who I awarded pub of the year for their roasts back in 2015 after an exquisite meal - are among the SJF establishments I had previously scranned at.
This time, it was the turn of the Bridge Hotel in the centre of Newcastle, which is nestled right on the corner of the northern side of the High Level Bridge.
BRIDGE HOTEL
Address: Castle Square, Newcastle, NE1 1RQ Tel: 0191 232 6400 Food served: Noon to 3pm Rating: 17/20
Character........................... Quality................................ Service................................ Value................................... Of course, Mrs Eats was unaware we were going to this particular pub but, as the rain started lashing down on a Sunday afternoon and we sought shelter, I suggested it would be rude not to sample the scran on offer. The Bridge has always been an excellent ale stop - most SJF pubs are, with The Bacchus and the eponymous Fitzgeralds two of the best for selection and quality - but its Sunday-dinner offerings had remained a mystery to me. I’d sampled some of their scrumptious Scotch eggs and other bar snacks, but never their roast dinners. They do not take b o o k - i n g s b u t Car park (metered)..................... Kids allowed...................... Real ale..................................... Wine by the bottle........................ Credit cards..................................... Vegetarian food............................. Disabled toilets............................. they are extremely popular. After we had ordered, by about 1.45pm - Sunday dinners are served between 12pm and 3pm - they ran out of pork.
And it seems The Bridge’s approach is to serve a slender menu, ensuring everything they offer is extremely flavoursome. It also keeps the prices more than reasonable, with two courses setting you back just £10.95.
There was only one actual starter on offer - tomato and basil soup (£3.50). Neither She Who Must Be Fed nor yours truly fancied soup, so instead we reverted to the bar snacks I know to be so splendid.
Unfortunately their famed Scotch eggs had sold out the evening before, so we had to content ourselves with a pork pie with piccalilli, and a mince and onion pie with roasting gravy (£3 each). A little heavy for a traditional starter, I’ll grant you, but they were both extremely tasty - and went down perfectly with a pint of Blonde Star (£3.05). The roasting gravy accompanying the mince pie in particular was delicious - and offered us an exciting indication of what was to follow.
For mains, you can choose between beef topside, chicken. breast or pork (£7.95 each).
Mrs Eats munched down her pork - it was “tender and delicious”, she commented - which came with excellent crackling – and was thoroughly impressed by the quality of the meat.
My beef was succulent and moreish, while the Yorkshire pudding was also scrummy. Both meals came accompanied with roast and new potatoes, seasonal vegetables and the roasting gravy.
And it was the gravy that was the star of the show; packed with meat flavour and the perfect consistency, it lifted the taste of everything else to a new level.
Despite our heavy starters, gluttony got the better of us both, as usual. We decided to sample the two classic desserts on offer: sticky toffee pudding and chocolate brownie (£3.95 each).
Both were a little disappointing when compared to the main meals - the brownie was a little over-baked, for one - but both were adequate enough.
Overall, however, The Bridge Hotel’s approach to Sunday scrannery is to be applauded. No-fuss, big-flavoured food served with good-quality ale at more than reasonable prices. What more could you possibly want.