A Flock Sunday Lunch At The Schoolhouse, South Normanton
Published On Sunday 27 Mar 2022 by Sticky Beak
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Fledge has had a busy couple of weeks, so it was nice that we could all catch up over Sunday lunch – even better when none of us had had to cook it either! During lockdown (don’t ask me which one, there’s been too many!) we had a take-out Sunday Roast from Martin and Sophie at The School House Restaurant and all really enjoyed it, so it was nice to actually go and dine-in on this occasion.
The one downside is that there is a serious shortage of parking so you have to run the gauntlet on the busy main road, but such is life. As soon as we stepped inside, Martin said hi and said to take a seat in the bar area and he’d sort our drinks out for us before we went through to the dining area – now that’s service that I could get used to. In the other area of the bar, to the right as you go in, there were a couple of ladies (one a new mum, with baby in pram) having a quiet drink and natter and there were diners of all ages in the main room, so The School House has a wide appeal to all generations.
If you’ve never been here before, the first thing you’ll notice is the impossibly high ceiling swiftly followed by the original features (fireplace etc.) from the buildings’ days as the village school and the eye catching, modern artwork on the walls. Dame Helen Mirren gazes serenely down over everyone from her perch above the doorway, albeit in picture form rather than in person (how fabulously bonkers would that be?!) and quirky nick-nacks adorn the window sills. The tables and chairs are tastefully mis-matched and painted in pastel colours and set with gleaming cutlery and napkins and foliage arrangements for some visual appeal.
The Sunday Lunch menu is dead simple: 2 courses for £18 per person, 3 for £21. We had got a loose game-plan in our heads prior to dining that we would have mains and dessert, but to be honest I really don’t know why we bother with this sort of nonsense because, as you all know, we have zero will-power and in the face of scrummy sounding starters the whole plan just went south! Count us in for the whole enchilada then, guys!
To kick off, Mummy Bird and I ordered the Wild Mushroom Flatbread, Fledge had her beloved Classic Prawn Cocktail and The Man had the Ham Hock and Apricot Terrine with Piccalilli and Watercress. All the starters looked gorgeous when they arrived, carefully presented and garnished and nicely warm where appropriate. With our usual gusto, we all began to munch away and soon there were smiles of appreciation spreading over our faces.
The Flatbreads were a good size and lovely and soft, the Garlic and herb butter giving them a very attractive gloss to their surface, as well as tasting very scrummy. There were plenty of sliced Wild Mushrooms to savour and these had a beautiful, soft earthiness to their flavour that lingered on the tongue pleasantly. A dollop of pizazz came via the finely grated Parmesan that was scattered over the entire flatbreads’ surface and the separate pots of Aioli, and our palates drank in the variety of tastes and textures that this morsel had provided them with.
His Nibs was a smitten kitten with his terrine and it was easy to see why; its coarse texture had a lovely contrast of colours thanks to the meat and fruit elements it contained. The colour continued with the sunny hue of the small chunk Piccalilli whose crunch had The Man smiling contentedly when he bit into it. Unusually, there was no bread in this starter; it literally was the rich-tasting Ham Hock Terrine and the sharp Piccalilli. To be fair, there was no need for anything else in this dish because the flavours were so clear and crisp that they deserved to take centre stage.
Chickadee loves Prawns (of any size!) so she was thrilled with the generous amount of this sweet seafood that she had been served. Crunchy Little Gem Lettuce provided a lush bed on which the pastel toned Prawns lazed on, ably assisted by slices of sweet Tomato and cooling Cucumber, and a large pond of Marie Rose sauce ramped up the flavour factor perfectly. A triangle of bread provided the means with which to scoop up every last bit of sauce and food that may have been left in the bowl.
Needless to say, there wasn’t anything left on any of our plates when the lovely lady came to clear them away. We took the opportunity to swap notes on our starters in the lull before our mains came out and the verdict was unanimous: delicious and moreish!
I would’ve put money on Fledge opting for the Roasted Nottinghamshire Loin of Pork, but she totally blind-sided us all with her choice of Nut and Mushroom Roast! The rest of us stayed predictable and ordered the Roasted Topside of Derbyshire Beef (me and Him had ours served pink, Mummy asked for hers to be cooked a little longer) and we also ordered Cauliflower Cheese and Pigs in Blankets (£3 each). All Martin and Sophie’s roasts come with Yorkies, Roasties, Mash, Seasonal vegetables and proper Pan Gravy (which can be made Gluten Free or there’s a Vegan suitable option too).
Now I’ve seen some sizeable Yorkshire Puddings in my time but, crikey, these were whoppers! Chef at The School House clearly has a degree in Yorkie making as they bore all the hallmarks of quality: the oil would’ve been smoking hot for the batter to go into and this meant that they rose like royal skyscrapers and had an airy, crisp outer with comfortingly soft bases. If Carlsberg did Yorkshires, these’d be the beauts they produced!
The Beef was sliced thinly and was bursting with a sweet succulence that had us all smacking our lips gleefully as it melted in our mouths. His Nibs was impressed with the seasoning in the mash and it was as smooth as silk, texture-wise; the other Potato component, the Roastie, was superb as well. Hiding bashfully under the massive Yorkshire Pud was a roasted half Carrot whose sweetness was sublime on the palate and the other vegetables were in a large bowl that sat snuggly in the centre of the table. Courgette slices, Mange Tout, shredded Kale and Broccoli florets had all been cooked perfectly to retain their flavour and a hint of crunch to them – you all know that I’m a moaning Minnie if I get soggy veg! The thick, meaty gravy was performing nicely, coating everything it touched as we all scooped up forkful after forkful of food into our mouths.
I’m not going to lie, Fledge’s Nut and Mushroom Roast really wasn’t much to look at, however much we tried (!) but it made up for its drab looks by tasting blooming lovely. This vegetarian morsel had a beautiful texture to it that meant there was something to chew on rather than it just being a soft mush, and the grains, mushrooms, herbs and seasoning ensured that the taste buds were happy as well. Clearly making up for her uncharacteristic vegetarian choice, Fledge heartily scoffed her way through the Chipolata and Streaky Bacon combo that is the classic Pig in its Blanket; the perversity of the ‘vegetarian’ scoffing some Porky Pig made me giggle, I must admit. Don’t shoot me!
I am just going to be a little bit critical at this point, which isn’t like me, but I did think that only getting a quartet of Pigs in Blankets for £3 was a bit steep, even factoring in inflation costs! To balance out the Karen within, I will tell you how marvellous the large dish of Cauliflower Cheese was. Chunky florets of Cauli had been cooked to keep them firm and then they were smothered in a completely stonking Wholegrain Mustard-pimped sauce that clung satisfyingly to the inside of my cheeks – this was super tasty, and I could eat this every day of the week quite happily.
For Desserts there were three orders of Sticky Toffee Pudding (which The School House makes with Dates for extra sweet, stickiness) and one order of Loaded Cheesecake, which was my choice. The School House team certainly don’t skimp on the size of the puds that they serve; each slab of Sticky Toffee Pudding could easily serve two people, maybe even three if they have smaller appetites! It was a pud-lover’s dream with its sweet gooey flavour and stunning two-tone, marbled appearance and the Clotted Cream Ice Cream contrasted well with the puds warmth, stirring the senses. His Nibs was especially enamoured with the thick Toffee sauce that smothered the top of the Sticky date-laden sponge, a sentiment that was echoed by Mummy Bird and Fledge.
My Vanilla, baked Cheesecake was very, very indulgent and had a superb dense-yet-silky body that was adorned with Orange and Blackberry Coulis, their contrasting tones providing visual appeal as well as bright, fruity flavours. This could easily have been a plain, smooth textured dessert, but two hearty pieces of crunchy Honeycomb cleverly prevented this. For once, I was glad that I had eschewed the Crème Brulee in favour of this minx; it had been worth the gamble!
Throughout our meal the staff had checked back that everything was to our liking and asked if we needed sauces, more drinks etc. You couldn’t fault the service in any way, it was friendly and efficient and done with care and attention. All our food was piping hot and cooked fresh to order to ensure it was at its best, and Martin and Sophie source their produce as locally as possible to keep standards high and support other local traders. Yet again, Hot Wings happily awarded to this wonderful South Normanton restaurant and bar – bring on summer so that I can enjoy an alfresco tipple in their garden area!!
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