Return to form for Badger
WITH family arriving for the weekend, it was a case of do we do a barbecue or take them out somewhere to eat?
The weather was cracking, but it was partly due to the heat that we decided on the latter – much less hassle.
Where to go though? The family had been motoring for a few good hours so we thought they wouldn’t mind a bit of a walk to our destination, so we decided on The Badger in Ponteland – about 40 minutes away from the house by foot, something it turns out our visitors were more than happy with.
Fusspot and I have been to The Badger on numerous occasions, due to its close proximity (especially by car!) but it has to be said our experiences there have been very hit and miss (and more leaning towards the former) in the past.
We conveyed this to our visitors, but we all agreed to try it out anyway as the walk would do us good.
I’m glad we went – this was by far our most enjoyable time spent at the pub/restaurant, and the family loved it too.
WHAT’S IT LIKE?
The Badger evokes the atmosphere of a traditional pub from yesteryear.
It has an extensive beer garden, but these days it really is all about the food.
We’ve seldom been when it isn’t busy and, as such our visit on Saturday night proved the point. It was bustling and there was a lovely atmosphere, with a good mix of families, couples and the odd group just there for a few bevvies.
We had booked a table (not a necessity, but probably a good idea on weekends) and were promptly shown to our seats before our waitress, Emily, came to take our order. We had superb service from Emily, who has some great banter, from start to finish.
AND THE MENU?
I have to say, the menu selection is the best I can remember, and it took us a canny while to choose our meals. That gave us time to enjoy some cooling pints to start. The Doom Bar (£3.30) went down a treat, as did my Cornish Gold cider (£3.85), while my uncle thoroughly enjoyed his first taste of Hadrian Border Brewery’s Tyneside Blonde (£3.75).
We also ordered a bottle of Domaine Roquemoliere Picpoul de Pinet (£19.50) – a lovely, light, crisp French wine, suitably chilled.
WHAT STARTERS DID WE OPT FOR?
Having just returned from a holiday in the North West Scottish Highlands and enjoying perhaps the best hand-dived scallops I have ever tasted, I was immediately drawn to the black pearl scallops and king prawns (£7.25), as was my aunt.
It was a good choice. While not on the same level as those I had eaten a couple of weeks earlier, the dish could not be faulted. Baked in garlic butter and served with two strands of rustic bread, everything complemented each other. The scallops were bursting with taste, and the helping was perfect for a starter.
My uncle chose the soup of the day, cauliflower
mulligatawny (£3.95), and he too was impressed. Basically a curried soup, it was spiced to perfection, just enough to give that kick but not in an overwhelming manner. I had a taste too, and loved it.
Fusspot likes his mushroom starters, hence his choice of oven-baked and portobello in a garlic and rarebit sauce and served with garlic bread (£5.25). Again, another winner.
Other starters to choose from include shallot tart tartin, chargrilled lamb koftas (which I was also very tempted to have) and box-baked Camembert.
DID THE MAINS DO THE BUSINESS?
Yes, for the main part. I had the 10oz ribeye steak (£18.95) which is recommended to have cooked medium and is aged for a minimum of 28 days.
I duly ordered it medium and that is exactly how it was delivered, and proved to be the best main I have had in my many years of going to The Badger. The meat was beautifully tender with just the right amount of juice flowing out. Chargrilled, it came with yummy triple-cooked chips, onion rings (just the correct amount) and thyme roasted tomato. I chose brandy peppercorn sauce (£1.50) to go with it, which proved the perfect companion.
My aunt and Fusspot plumped for Hunter’s Chicken (£11.25). This is something Fusspot has had in the past here and has always asked for the bacon to be taken off (he’s a “chicken-tarian”) in advance.
Previously this has not been a problem, but now the Hunter’s Chicken comes with a 4oz gammon steak. He asked if he could swap it for a second chicken breast but was told no as the breast was much larger than the steak.
He accepted this, but when it arrived (with the gammon, which the rest of us said we would share) he was a bit disappointed to see the size of the breast and the steak about the same. That said, the meal tasted good, the chicken topped with smoked cheddar and served with barbecue sauce and triple-cooked chips. The gammon steak, for those who had it, proved delicious too.
My uncle had the grilled pork chop (£11.95), which proved the most disappointing meal of the night. It was OK for the most part, but the chop was too dry for my uncle’s liking. That said, the mashed potato, tenderstem broccoli, apple and vanilla ketchup and veal jus went down a treat.
Other mains include seared fillet of sea bass, whole sea bream (almost my choice, until I was told there was none left), smoked haddock kedgeree fishcake and roasted butternut squash and portobello mushroom tart.
ROOM FOR DESSERT?
At first glance no, until we saw the pudding taster platter (£8.95) – four mini desserts of which we could all have a taste.
This is highly recommended. The Belgian chocolate brownie topped with vanilla ice cream was rich but delicious, the Melba mallow mess was scrumptious, while the vanilla creme brulee was light but oozing with flavour and the bourbon pecan pie with home-baked butter biscuits was to die for.
We finished off the lot between us.
FINAL THOUGHTS?
By far the best meal we have had at The Badger and we hope the standard remains this high.
When it is this good, The Badger is hard to beat in terms of menu choice, atmosphere and service (thanks again, Emily).
We were grateful of the walk home too – to work off a few of those calories we had enjoyed so much gaining!