On an incredibly blustery day, we thought it would be a great idea to sit in a pub garden to have lunch. Luckily the pub in question was the Bricklayers Arms in Flaunden who have covered their patio with a marquee to shelter from the wind and heaters to warm each tables cockles. So in the end, it wasn't such a bad idea. The wind whipped around the canvas, but we were toasty warm at our table, finally checking out this pub we'd heard so much about.
The Bricklayers Arms is in the gloriously named Hogpits Bottom / Flaunden area just along the road from Bovingdon. It's been there since 1722 and is full of character on the inside with low ceilings and uneven floors. As for the food, Michelin trained chef Claude Paillet oversees an English and French fusion menu, using as much local produce as possible.
It's a big menu, I'm surprised you don't hear audible 'hmmms' as diners debate the options with their guests. Just us? Oh well. Given that we were celebrating my last day of maternity leave I decided I was going for the full whack of all three courses. So to start I went for the chicken liver parfait with red onion and Guinness jam on a brioche, J went for the crab and home-made smoked salmon blinis with chive cream.
The chicken liver parfait was gorgeous - some parfaits are over-salted or have a heavy port note which overpowers the earthy liver. Not so here, the liver was strong and dominant with a creamy lightness. I love liver, so that was fine by me, but I wonder if other people may find it too umami? J's crab and smoked salmon blini was also excellent - although a minor point would be that you only got two small blinis with a good amount of crab meat and smoked salmon. J loves to load stuff onto carbs, so he looked a bit put out until I gave him some of my toast!
For mains, I took our really friendly waitress' suggestion and went for the duo of duck (breast and confit leg) with pink grapefruit and orange peel. J went for a pulled beef sandwich with ale cheese sauce and piccalilli. Whilst the pulled beef and all the contents of the sandwich were wonderful, they were slightly dominated by a dry, heavy, wholemeal bap which was a shame. I think when you read "sandwich" you do imagine a doorstop sourdough, so I think this was more a case of disappointed expectation vs reality, which would have been remedied if the bap was described on the menu. The duck however, was the highlight of the meal. Sumptous meat, cooked to perfection with a bitter, sweet and tangy jus, complemented perfectly with the softest, butteriest, creamiest dauphinoise potatoes I've ever had. Oh man, I could eat a LOT of that! Can I go back just for that?
Because this was my last day of maternity leave, I decided to go all out and have pudding. Plus, it was Sticky Toffee Pudding on the menu, and if there's one thing I love, it's a good STP! I have to say, the sticky toffee sauce was glorious. It was unctuous and delightful and rich. But the pudding itself was more like a cake and the centre was slightly dry as the sauce hadn't penetrated inside like a traditional STP would have. Again, it was another expectation vs reality, because it was perfectly delicious, but should have been described as a cake with a sticky toffee sauce. J had a lemon posset which looked beautiful! The soft meringue was piped beautifully on top of a slightly-firmer-than-usual posset and torched to highlight the perfect piping! It was like a lemon marshmallow dessert on a shortbread tuille served with a lip-smackingly good raspberry sorbet. It was both light and refreshing but deeply comforting and filling.
It is so wonderful to be able to eat out again and -much like the Alford Arms- the staff treated us like guests at a family reunion. They were all friendly and accommodating despite the howling wind, precarious marquee, and some rather demanding customers around us. The meal was well paced and the portions were great size too. We were definitely full by the end but not "Mr Creosote" levels of "stuffed" and for £40 per person, that's a pretty good value meal.
Service:
Incredibly friendly and attentive. Easy booking online and great service on arrival too.
Quality:
The dishes were all presented superbly and ate really well. There were a few niggles with expectations of certain dishes versus the reality, but regardless of this, each dish was delicious.
Value & Price:
£80 for the two of us for 3 courses. Not the cheapest but the dishes were all good size, well-presented, exciting and filling.
Overall:
VERY GOOD- We would certainly go back here. It's a lovely pub that is relatively local to us, and with a changing menu and brighter days coming up, I have no doubt we will return to sample these treats again! (By treats, I do mean dauphinoise potatoes, yes!)
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