On a quick little business trip down to The River Cottage in Musbury, Devon, I decided to rekindle my blog... It's about time... And yes, it is that River Cottage!
The closest hotel I could find to River Cottage was in Yeovil. Right, hotel booked... Now to find a restaurant. Tripadvisor comes in handy in situations like these. Top of the list, rated number 1, was Mulberry, a semi South African themed restaurant. Perfect!
Parking is hard to come by in Yeovil, so a pleasant and quiet walk through town from the car park was needed before I found the restaurant. Slightly unassuming from the exterior with an A-frame board advertising 2 for 1 steak nights on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I walked in and was shown to a table immediately even though the restaurant was reasonably full. The ambiance was pleasing enough and thankfully not over the top South African.
Following a perusal of the menu that was surprisingly laminated and didn't fit the feel of the restaurant, I ordered Slow Roast Crispy Pork Belly with Thatchers Apple Cider Jelly for £6 and Oven Roasted Duck Breast with Poached Pear, Parsnip and Vanilla Puree, Port Wine Gravy and Market Vegetables for £15.50. Once the order was placed, homemade bread promptly arrived which I polished off with gusto.
A very pleasing looking plate was placed in front of me and my first thought was ooh, yum! My second thought was good grief, that's a fairly large piece of pork. The starter was good. The pork was tasty and tender and the crackling was delightfully crispy. The apple jelly flavour was fresh and complemented the pork extremely well, as apple always does. The sauce was rich and delectable and the fresh leaves was a pleasing touch. My only comment is that the apple jelly was too solid. Gelatin had been used in abundance and the jelly was approaching rubber... not quite there but firm enough to detract from the rest of the plate. No wobble to this jelly! Overall though, it was a very pleasing starter with good flavour combinations.
Once again, a pleasant looking plate of food was placed in front of me. I was really looking forward to the duck as the combination of pear, parsnips and vanilla intrigued me. My first visual was a tinge of disappointment... the duck had been overcooked for my taste. I like medium rare at most and this duck was fast approaching medium well... anyway, I never the less tucked in. Yes, the duck was slightly overcooked, however the port sauce almost made up for this. Rich, unctuous, salty, sticky and oh so moreish! In addition, the hint of vanilla permeating the parsnip was a nice touch. The pear however, was extremely sweet. Eaten on its own, I would struggle to eat the whole thing. Also, it hadn't been de-cored... However, when combining the pear with a slice of duck, they did complement each other well and the sweetness of the pear was minimised and balanced well with the meatiness of the duck. Once again, I did find the portion large as I had an entire duck breast on my plate. Usual when cooking at home, not so much when eating out.
Dessert was a tough choice... I was tempted by melting chocolate biscuits and Amarula sauce, but eventually selected the Malva Pudding, a South African Soft Sponge made with Apricot Jam and served with Vanilla Ice Cream for £6. Quite honestly, the Malva Pudding was to die for... soft, sweet, sticky, jam packed with flavour, just delicious! The ice cream was good quality and store bought (I think). However, the mango puree and raspberry bits left me puzzled. Mango and Raspberry can work well together and I've paired them together in smoothies, however on this plate they left a bitter after taste in my mouth. Odd... the mango on it's own was sweet and creamy, the raspberry sharp and sour, just what you'd expect... but for some reason they really seemed to clash on my palate... just weird!
Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, relaxed and peaceful. The food was pretty good and I can understand their top rating on Tripadvisor as I would give them a 4 out of 5. Also, based on food quality and the large portion sizes, I would rate the food as good value for money. I would however eat here again and recommend it to friends. Just a pity about the little errors...
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