Cafés & Bistro

 

It was a dark and blustery mid-week evening when we embarked on our night out to sample the fare at The Neptune Inn in Old Hunstanton. Snaking our way up what were more country lanes than actual roads from Norwich added a romantic, escapist element to proceedings that meant our evening began with a feeling that we were really ‘getting away’ for the evening - quite a nice distraction in the middle of the week.

The Neptune Inn - a restaurant and B&B - is located on the A149 coast road in the Northwest corner of the County, on a site that has a history infused with smuggling and shipwrecks. Last year, the Inn was re-launched by new owners Kevin and Jacki Mangeolles. Their credentials in the art of expert hospitality include Chef Kevin earning a Michelin Star (held for 9 years) at the highly-rated George Hotel in Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight, before which the couple operated a thriving Country House Hotel in the Lake District.

Now The Neptune has the distinctive, while surprisingly appealing, feel of a traditional old English Inn, blended with lashings of New England character (Kevin and Jacki are unashamed fans of East Coast America). Clean lines and whitewashed woodwork sit perfectly alongside a roaring fire, nautical memorabilia and black and white images of the neighbouring coast. Beautifully lit at night like a welcoming beacon on the dark coastal road, The Neptune is stylish and immaculate throughout - quite a departure I’d imagine from its formative days as an 18th Century Norfolk coaching inn.

 

 

Traditional

Upon entering, we are greeted with a lovely warm welcome - being a mid-week night just before Easter, the bar area is quiet so we chat to Jacki and Kevin who are very open and friendly. We take a bar-side seat in front of the ‘real’ fire (not actually ‘real’ but deceptively close) where we are brought olives and menus with our first drinks to start proceedings. Shortly we adjourn to the intimate dining area (chic with neutral tones, shaker-style high-backed wicker Lloyd Loom chairs, candlelight and tables elegantly decked with full linen). The ambience is relaxed and seductive but Jacki (our waitress this evening) is extremely attentive without being the slightest bit intrusive or ‘overbearing’. We are brought an amuse-bouche of parsnip soup with chorizo oil. Delicious and always a pleasing touch that gets the digestive juices flowing.

 

 

To begin proper, I choose the Baked Leek Custard with Mature Cheddar Sauce. My Partner opts for Thornham Mussel and Apple Risotto with a Light Curry Flavour. Both arrive promptly and are beautifully presented. The Risotto arrived topped with foam and was packed with mussels, while my ‘custard’ was akin to a savoury soufflé. Both were astonishingly light (a particular triumph for the risotto as these are often lead-heavy!) and perfect in size for a starter course (just enough - not too much to fill you up). The real delight is that both are utterly, absolutely, mouth-wateringly delicious.

For our main course, my Partner had Fillets of Grey Mullet, Fennel Confit, Sweet Potato Gnocchi (homemade and a world apart from the pre-packed Gnocchi you may have tried from the Supermarket) and Orange Sauce. I took the Roast Tomato and Olive Tart with Rocket, which was not unlike a cheeseless pizza on puff pastry instead of dough. Eating it actually felt ‘healthy’ - the dishes weren’t stodgy, oily or ‘fatty’ and the flavours were clean and unmodified. My Partner’s Mullet came perched on roasted vegetables (courgette, peppers), which he found particularly tasty.

While we dined, we overhead numerous noises of general satisfaction from a pair of nearby diners - “really tender, really flavoursome” I heard one remark.

Before our desserts we were brought little dishes of mascarpone and passion fruit jelly (“to liven your taste-buds”, Jacki informed us). Certainly they did the trick - the jelly was ‘tangier’ than any I can remember tasting.

 

 

For dessert I had the Lemon Vanilla Custard with Lemon Grass Ice Cream while my Partner had the indulgent sounding Trio Of Chocolate Desserts (comprising of Chocolate Tart, White Chocolate and Thyme Ice Cream and Manjari Chocolate Soup - the sound of it alone must surely add inches to ones waistline?). As we’d begun to expect by now, all was delicious, but breaking with the form of the previous courses, these puddings are not, presumably, intended to be taken lightly. Where the former courses leave you satisfied but able to eat the next course, the desserts ensure that you will not leave wanting. The ice cream is all made freshly on the premises and with less sugar and not such a ‘crystalline’ texture it is fresh and clean to taste. My Partners’ warm chocolate soup was “concentrated like a melted chocolate bar” and in all the Chocolate Trio was deemed suitable for the ultimate chocoholic. Rich and intense, my Partner remarked, referring to the chocolate soup, that it was “amazing how such a small amount of food can have such an intense taste”.

 

 

Our meal finished with coffees and petits fours (miniature sponges and chocolate-liqueur truffle cakes served in edible chocolate casing). The perfect end to what had been a perfect experience.

In complete honesty I can say that the meal was up there with the very best I’ve had anywhere. The food itself is in a class of its own and we could not find fault with anything. There was no negative aspect to any of the dishes we ate and it is not hard to see why Kevin has previously earned a Michelin star for his cooking skills. He plans to strive for the same accolade at The Neptune, maintaining the philosophy that eating there should be a “total dining experience”, enabling one to “try dishes and ingredients you don’t necessarily use at home”.

Ideal as a destination for a romantic or ‘special’ meal, attention to detail is notably high throughout both the venue and the overall experience, making The Neptune well worth a trip along those dark, winding country lanes.

 

 

The Neptune is open 6 nights a week from Tues-Sun.

The Neptune Inn & Restaurant.

85 Old Hunstanton Road, Old Hunstanton,

Norfolk, PE36 6HZ.

Tel: 01485 532122.

e: reservations@theneptune.co.uk

www.theneptune.co.uk

| EnjoyMent Cardholders dining at The Neptune receive a complementary glass of champagne on arrival (cardholders plus one guest) |