Looking out over the manicured greens of the golf course, there can be few better places to enjoy a meal than Redditch's Abbey Hotel.
But while golfers curse the rough or grumble about a dropped shot, all that can be heard from inside the hotel's Bramblings Restaurant is the sound of delighted diners enjoying some of the best food Redditch has to offer. The menu is exhaustive, as is the excellent wine list, ensuring that all tastes are well and truly satisfied.
The Abbey Hotel is situated on the northern edge of Redditch between the villages of Bordesley and Beoley. Having parked up amid the many golf trolleys, we headed inside. Drinks can be taken either in the comfortable bar area or outside on the terrace. We opted to stay inside - away from the big-hitters - and trawled through the menu.
The choice on the evening's table d'hote menu was extensive to say the least, with no fewer than eight starters to select from and then a further eight main courses. The choice of desserts gave us another headache but more of that later.
I opted to start with a dish of sauted wild mushrooms served in a brandy cream sauce and a puff pastry case. And it was a choice well made. The bite of the mushrooms - that earthy bitterness only found with those captured from the wild - was brilliantly anchored by the creamy brandy sauce. The pastry remained crisp and the dainty salad on the side topped it off perfectly.
My partner chose a starter of pancetta served with little gem lettuce, roasted grapes, croutons and a balsamic dressing. The warm grapes were an inspired touch to a dish that could have been rather run-of-the-mill without such intervention.
Choosing a main course had proved tricky because of the sheer number of options. I could quite easily have spent a week eating out at the Bramblings working my way through the menu.
Tuna and sea bass were offered up for lovers of fish while an aubergine gateau sounded tempting enough to turn me vegetarian for the night.
In the end I decided on the duck breast, which was served with soy noodles in a whisky and honey sauce. The ribeye steak caught the imagination of my companion, the dish coming with pont neuf potatoes and in a peppercorn sauce.
The duck was cooked to perfection - dark and crispy on the outside and a subtle pink in the middle. There's little that can be said for noodles but, once again, the chef had excelled with the sauce, the sweetness of which worked brilliantly with the rich, gamey flavour of the duck. The flavour of the steak was also excellent and here, again, the sauce was just right - not so spicy that it overwhelmed the main attraction. New potatoes and ratatouille were served with the dishes, the vegetables changing according to the season.
After such an excellent meal, desserts can be something of a disappointment - too rich or stodgy to sit comfortably. But we need not have worried. My chocolate and orange tart was a bittersweet delight surrounded by a sublime Baileys sauce. And the banana tatin with chocolate ice cream was another fine combination.
A bottle of the Australian Moondarra Shiraz accompanied the meal while a huge pot of coffee rounded off the proceedings.
The table d'hote dinner at Bramblings costs just £21.50 for three courses or £17.50 for a two-course meal.
Bramblings Restaurant, The Abbey Hotel, Hither Green Lane, Dagnell End Road, Redditch.
Tel: 01527 406600.
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