Today however the Joshua Bradley was quiet, it was 3.30pm on a Monday afternoon. We were greeted by a smart young man who took us to our seats and was super polite throughout. Sitting in the Orangery is splendid place to eat. Bathed in natural light, but without the intense heat often found in conservatories, you are surrounded by neutral greens and beiges, a relaxing, comfortable place to be. Through the windows is the expansive patio area, complete with rope swings for the kids and there's even a bit of a pond if you venture to the far end. This is a great spot for people watching. There is a nice mix of families, men who look like they have raided their son's wardrobe, and Giro WAG's complete with Johnny Choo heels and DnG sunglasses!
We had bread, oil and balsamic to munch as we looked at the menu, the oregano focaccia was particularly tasty, and the white bloomer was light and very floury, I made a real mess...and loved it!
Starters were a Game Terrine, and Stilton Mushroom Bake. My terrine was superb. It was light and smooth like a parfait, but contained the huge sweet, gamey flavours you would expect from a dish containing venison, pheasant and partridge. I enjoyed this dish a lot, and it was nicely complimented with onion chutney and toasted pieces of the oregano focaccia. Although Anna enjoyed the Stilton Mushroom Bake, I thought it was very average. Button mushrooms in a bit of a cheese sauce wasn't to my taste. Personally I think this dish would benefit from using some more interesting flat or field mushrooms, and beefing the sauce up with more garlic and some black pepper.
For the main event Anna had Cajun Chicken and Choritzo Penne, a dish both of us had tried before, and one we both new was a winner! This is a brilliant fusion pasta dish. There is a decent heat provided by the Cajun spices, but this is mellowed by the comforting lipid rich sauce. This is a generous serving too, and although our waitress (or server as the place insists on calling their waiting staff) looked a little surprise when we asked for the plentiful leftovers to be bagged up, the kitchen did box it up for us to enjoy later.
Feeling butch, I had ordered a Mixed Grill, with a medium rare steak, and Pepper sauce. Surely something of greatness. I received a mixed grill, well done steak and no sauce. My server went back tot he kitchen and managed to get some sauce, but she needn't have bothered. It was pleasant but nothing special, there were peppercorns in their, but somehow their flavour had remained trapped inside their hard shell, and this was a creamy sauce, with some peppercorns in. My over cooked steak was actually really nice! The gammon was tasty with enough saltiness to make the peas taste super sweet. The best bit however were the sausages. They were great, dense, meaty and perfectly seasoned.
The Joshua Bradley is Hydes Brewery's flagship pub. It is easy see why. It is visually stunning, a hugely successful design concept. From what I can gather, £2,000,000 was invested in creating the place. The result is very good, but not £2mil good! If I have visitors and we need some good food, I would not hesitate to bring people here, but what they need to do is invest in some quality training and refine their cooking, just a little and take this place from very good, to £2million good.
I visited The Joshua Bradley at 3.30 on 18/4/11. The Joshua Bradley, Stockport Rd, Gee Cross
