After a while we moved through into the dining room and were invited to view the menu which was on a couple of neon chalk boards above the sweet counter.  The dining room was pleasantly decorated with large windows overlooking the lawns down to the forest.

From a choice of five starters we chose the BBQ Ribs, the prawns in filo pastry and the Duck Pate.  This was accompanied by nice chunky wholemeal bread.  We also ordered a bottle of the House Pinot Grigio which priced at £12.95 was quite good.

For our main courses we picked the Fillet Steak, the Lamb Shank, and the house special Homemade Rabbit Pie.  Unfortunately the Fillet steak was more “medium well” than the “medium rare” we had asked for, however the Rabbit Pie was large and filled with hearty chunks of rabbit meat – presumably caught nearby!  Vegetables were served on the plate with the meal; and a dish of gnocchi potatoes was available to us all.  Had we wanted it, there were two vegetarian options on the mains board.

On their website it shows a picture of three chefs but we only saw two members of staff all evening!  The food, although pleasant and well presented, could all have come from the freezer (except for the Homemade Rabbit Pie) and lacked flair and originality.  Also, we thought the presentation could be improved in all courses.  Looking at a sample menu on one of the boards it would appear that much more exciting food is served at times – presumably during the main holiday seasons.

Overall, the location and the building are superb but unfortunately our visit was out of season and the menu and food reflected this.  It appeared we had travelled back in a time warp and that the dining was of the same period!  We look forward to visiting again during the summer, or during the Christmas period when we would hope to experience the Bramble Hill Hotel Restaurant at its best.