Sunday lunch at the Scotsbridge Mill - Review
March 10th 2008

It is not often I see my mother, the reason being that she lives abroad in Spain and as you can imagine after much chatter we had decided to venture out rather belatedly, to find somewhere to eat Sunday lunch. It was 2:30pm on a sunny Sunday afternoon and I had worried at the options that I may have due to the fact that many traditional pubs stiop serving at 3pm. The sunny weather had stirred a thought in my mind of the Scotsbridge Mill, a venue I frequent in the summer due to the large garden area which can be quite a suntrap. A quick call ahead to the Scotsbridge Mill ensured a table for four at 3pm, much to my relief.

My mother was quite amazed by how such a traditional looking pub could be so stylish and modern inside with log fires and cosy corners. A particular delight was how the workings of the mill had been encapsulated with the glazed window overlooking the flowing river, its not often that one could say that they have been to a pub with a river flowing through it?

The front of house arrived swiftly and greeted us courteously. We ventured to the bar where we ordered some drinks and when the order was completed the front of house led us to our table. The table was in a sunny spot with comfortable high backed chairs with ample room. My mother was first concerned with the site of discoreet speakers surrounding our table,  but the chillout music was unobtrusive and helped to aid the laid back attitude that encapsulates the place.

The young waiter quickly attended our table and dispatched the specials menu for the day and invited us to partake in a Martini, which although the Martini menu was interesting and worthy of sampling on another occasion, we decided to decline.

The standard menu is a mixture of simple and contemporary dishes with plates to share such as tapas, baked camembert and a selection of greek foods. The starters began at £4.00 with the most expensive at £8.50 for a Crispy Duck Salad. For main courses, there was a good selection of specials including the roast of the day which was roast beef, a risotto and a sausage of the day selection in addition there was selection grills, fired pizzas and meals from the stove.

I opted for the crayfish and smoked salmon ravioli with prawns and lemon (£7.00), my wife and my mother selected the caramelised onion tart with goats cheese and rocket (£6.00) and my father selected the tandoori chicken with spinach and mango (£7.50).

Before our starters arrived the staff were very apologetic about a perceived delay to the starters and without prompting provided us with some fanastically fresh baked bread from the oven. The irony was neither I, nor my guests had thought there had been a delay, not one of us had checked our watch our raised a grievance, but it was particularly impressive to see that the staff were attentive, even if the perceived delay had not one been one which I had felt occurred.

The starters arrived and were all beautifully presented and quite plentiful in size without being excessive. My ravioli was fresh with succulent prawns and softly cooked salmon. My wife and my mother were impressed with the onion tart which had soft shortcrust pasty with an ample layer of goats cheese to complement the caramelised onion. My father commented that the tandoori chicken with freshly cooked and amply flavoured. The starters were indeed impressive.
The waiting staff were again swift to clear our plates but not intrusive and asked if we would like to commence with our main courses. An affirmative reply brought the main courses to our tables within ten minutes from the plate collection which was the optimum time to digest or starters.

For the main course my mother and father selected the rib of roast beef from the special menu, I selected the wild boar and apple sausages with mash and my wife selected the steak burger with chips. The roast beef came with a large yorshire pudding upon the beef with the roast potatoes to the side and the shredded cabbage below. They were slighty disappointed that no carrots had come in the vegetable selection, but the portion was quite plentiful and was too much for my mother to eat. My mother and father both commented that the beef was slightly chewy but the vegetables were cooked to their satisfaction.

The wild boar and apple sausages were not presented as enticingly as I had hoped. Effectively it was sausage, mash and gravy and  the portion was plentiful and the cooked to perfection. My wife was impressed with the steak burger. The freshly-made burger was tasty with good quality meat and a tangy-salsa encompaniement. The burger itself was enough for my wife, who left the chips for us men to devour.

Despite feeling slightly full, we couldn’t help but view the dessert menu. My wife and my mother had been enticed by the special dessert of the day which was a white chocolate cheesecake with dark chocolate sauce, whilst I selected a pear tart and my father selected an apple and blackberry crumble.

The starters arrived and the pastry chef had done a wonderful job with my mother’s cheesecake. She commented that it was delightfully light in texture with the dark chocolate sauce providing a tasty accompaniement, in fact she had wished there had been slightly more sauce! My pear tart was delicately level with the pastry not hiding the taste of the pear. My father enjoyed the apple and blackberry crumble the custard was of at the optimal temperature with the sharp tastes of the fruit complementing the sweetness of the custard,  the desserts were all thoroughly enjoyed.

The final bill came just over £103 including a glass of wine, a bottle of mineral water and a bottle of Aspalls blush cider.

We left at 5:30pm as customers were arriving for the evening, the venue was busy throughout showing the signs of the continuing popularity, I would expect that if I had tried to attend in the lunchtime rush, then my request would have been disappointed.

I would recommend the Scotsbridge Mill, the staff was very swift and courteous and the food was delightful. I have many friends that have taken business clients to this venue and I would agree that the venue would be popular in the week for those that would like an impromptu meeting or for friends that wanted to meet to catch up.

The Scotsbridge Mill had a impressive wine list with both New and Old world wines and a variety of styles. For special occasions there are some great Champagnes. There is ten different beers on tap ranging from continental lagers, to European speciality beers, as well as some great ales.

Review by Stewart Wilton

The Scotsbridge Mill
Scotsmill Lane, Rickmansworth WD3 1AT

Telephone: 01923 778 377
Web: www.thescotsbridgemill.co.uk