Sunday Lunch At The Elm Tree In Elmton
Published On Wednesday 1 Jan 2025 by Sticky Beak
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It isn’t like The Man Bird and Ito be slouches in the work department, but the weather (and time spent Christmas shopping!) was not on our side, so we hadn’t earned our Sunday roast…but that didn’t stop us! Mummy Bird always loves a mooch out, so she needed no encouragement to jump in the jalopy and head over to The Elm Tree at Elmton with us.
We’ve been to this venue before, although it was a while ago, and it was as busy as ever – the car park was rammed! Inside, the pub and restaurant were both also busy, but the staff still greeted us warmly and showed us over to our table in the dog-friendly section. We didn’t have our pooch with us, but it’s nice to know that he’d be given water and treats if he had been there. As it was, we had the pleasure of a beautiful black Pug and a silver Malte-Poo at the adjacent table; their humans were pretty friendly, too, so all was good in da hood, so to speak. The Elm Tree is also very family friendly, and it was lovely to see so many children dining out.
As well as the Sunday Lunch menu, The Elm Tree offers an extensive selection of dishes on its ‘regular’ one. Pricing is nice and simple for the Sunday lunch: 1 course is £18pp, 2 costs £25, and if you go for all three courses it’ll set you back £32. His Nibs and I had already decided to skip starters in favour of pudding; a decision Mummy quickly joined us in, though she was tempted by the [childhood memory-inducing] Homemade Bread and Elm tree Dripping, £3, to graze on. In the end, she settled for a cheeky glass of Pinot Grigio (£9.30); I joined her with a glass of Sauv Blanc (£10), and The Man had a pint of Estrella (£6.10).
Both The Man and I went for mains from the Sunday lunch menu: 10-hour Roast Beef and Yorkie Pud, and Roast pork with Red Onion and Sage Stuffing, respectively; Mummy chose a dish off the regular menu: Pan-fried Liver and grilled Bacon with Mashed Potato, Roasted Shallots and Thyme Gravy (£14). The roasts are served with Roasties, Roasted Root Vegetables, Cauliflower Cheese, and a bottomless jug of Gravy; we were sorely tempted to add some Creamed Leeks and Bacon or Dauphinoise Potatoes (both £3), but were mindful that we needed to leave room for pudding.
Mummy had requested that her Liver be cooked through, rather than served pink, when asked, and when the bowl was placed in front of her said that it looked perfect. If you like a robust Pate, then you’ll like the full flavour of this Liver; it was beautifully rounded in the mouth, and marvellously soft to the bite. When you have something as punchy as Liver, you need to tread softly with its companions, and Chef got it spot-on with the gently-textured, buttery Potato and the sweet, halved Shallots. The herby note of the Thyme-infused Gravy just brought the flavour profile back up a notch on the palate, making this a delightfully moreish dish – Mummy even got one of the serving spoons to scrape the bowl clean, it had been that good!
Meanwhile, across the table from her, The Man and I were a blur of arms as we helped ourselves to bubbling Cauliflower Cheese, a medley of Leeks, Peas, Savoy Cabbage and Brussels, Roasted Swede, Parsnip and Carrot, and dark golden Roasties. Chef serves up plenty of slices of your chosen meats, and both the beef and Pork were super-soft to the bite and brimming with taste. I loved the layer of crunchy crackling that edged my Pork, and it was seasoned very nicely. The vegetables were everything you could wish for: softened but with a bit of bite left and sweet in the mouth, and the sauce that bathed the Cauliflower was silky, cheesy, and it had a super ping of warmth from some mustard at its finish.
We’ve recently been spoiled by some phenomenal Yorkshire puds so, to be frank, it wasn’t a massive surprise that, whilst we liked them, they weren’t the greatest we’ve had. The batter itself was nice and tasty, but they weren’t skyscraper in size and they were wickedly crunchy on the outside either: good effort, but not gold-medal winning. However, where the Yorkie may not be seared in our memories, the gravy certainly will be! The gravy was laced with wine and glistened with the meat juices from the roasting pan, with that meatiness to its flavour that the palate really savours….and the stuffing ball wasn’t too shabby either.
It took us some time, but we all cleared our plates, sitting back contentedly as we surveyed the empty crockery, pits and gravy boat! As we’d been chomping away, the serving team had checked we were enjoying our food and generally making sure that we’d got everything we needed; they brought over Apple sauce and Horseradish sauce for us at the beginning of our meals. Considerately, they gave us a few minutes’ grace before bringing out the dessert menu, although maybe our stuffed-to-the-brim groans gave away the fact that we needed a bit of breathing room.
For pudding I chose the Ginger Crème Brulée, with Vanilla Ice Cream and a miniature Gingerbread Man; Mummy fancied the Pear and Almond Tart with Vanilla Custard and asked if she could also have a bit of Vanilla Ice Cream (she got charged £2 for the privilege, mind, which I thought was a bit off) and The Man had White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake with Raspberry Sorbet.
As with the previous course, the desserts were all beautifully presented and we tucked in after giving them their due praise. Colour-wise, The Mans dessert took the crown; the pale Cheesecake body contrasted sharply with the jewel hue of the Raspberry, making it wonderfully attractive. In the mouth, this contrast continued with the tart fruit swirling with the creamy cheesecake; combined, they were sublime; even more so when the cool Sorbet joined the party.
I gave the burned sugar crust on my sweet treat a smart smack with my spoon, smiling as that ‘thwack’ reached my ears. The crème had a marvellous bounce of Ginger to it, the spice piercing through the richness of the dairy cream brilliantly. Chef had made the gingerbread so that it had a lovely chewiness to its centre, underneath a light crust at its outer.
Pear and Almond enjoy each other’s company with ease and, in this example, you could clearly discern both elements on the palate. The base of the tart was that perfect texture where it cut with a fork easily but didn’t disintegrate, and the buttery flavour was delicious. I liked the fact that the Custard was contained in a separate jug, allowing Mummy to add as much [or as much; there is no ‘little’ in our flock!] as her heart desired. A precise round of pale Vanilla Ice Cream was delicately melting, leaving a trail of milkiness in its wake; it didn’t lay there for long though before it was getting popped onto the spoon and gobbled up!
Needless to say, we were all ‘full to busting’ after eating all that delicious food – so much so, we couldn’t even manage a coffee. Throughout our meal, the staff had been amazing; they may have been young, but, by crikey, they were polite, professional and timely. Hot Wings given here again.
The Elm Tree serves food Noon-8pm Monday, is closed Tuesday, Wed&Thurs Noon-8pm, Fri&Sat Noon-9pm, and Sunday Noon-6pm. I would advise booking a table to avoid disappointment because it is an extremely popular venue; pick up the blower and call 01909 721261. To view current menus, visit the website www.elmtreeelmton.co.uk.
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