After being served an amuse bouche of watermelon, olive and goat’s cheese, and some warm apple chutney and Caraway seed bread (a firm favourite of ours), I tucked into the deliciously-smooth local smoked salmon and lemon (£9.50) for my starter on the swirly porcelain plate. It came with thinly sliced sour dough bread, a sprinkling of capers, as well as some finely cut shallots and a very generous portion of horseradish sauce.
My other half was equally impressed by the Cambridge asparagus with saffron aioli, broad beans and Parisienne potato (£9) which disappeared without too much hesitation.
From the “Sea and Shell” section of the menu, I headed straight for the sumptuous and utterly delightful whole Dover Sole off the bone (£31) which was served with a crushed potato and herb stack, alongside some buttered baby spinach. I joined this with a side order of Tenderstem broccoli and hollandaise sauce (an additional £4). The bar and restaurant menu was once again the point of call for my dining partner, and she enjoyed the 32-day aged beef fillet with morrel sauce and field mushrooms (£39) which was cooked to utter perfection.
Desserts are always a tough choice, but being known for a sweet tooth, it had to be the Eton mess which was simply superb, and I slowly worked my way down the tall glass to reach the last morsel of crushed meringue which lay at the bottom, the reward for finishing this wonderful creation. My guest enjoyed a specially concocted fruit salad with balls of blackberry and liquorice and pineapple and passion fruit sorbet to end proceedings on a more refreshing note.
Mirroring that seen in other parts of the hotel, the service at Squires was excellent from start to finish, so it’s no wonder that the restaurant was full whilst we were there.
Back to Squires in the morning, and breakfast on a Sunday runs from 8:00 to 11:00 (it costs £16.50 per person), which accommodates visitors who prefer a more sedate start to the morning. Despite being well fed the night before, we rustled up some space in our stomachs to enjoy some of the delicacies on the buffet, namely fruit salad, cheese, pain au chocolat and some nuts. From the hot menu, it was scrambled eggs and smoked salmon for me, and warm pancakes for her, which set us both up nicely for a journey further east to Nelson’s County and the North Sea coast.
Bedford Lodge Hotel and Spa – Where and How?
The Bedford Lodge Hotel and Spa can be found at Bury Rd, Newmarket CB8 7BX, United Kingdom. For more information, or to make a reservation, visit www.bedfordlodgehotel.co.uk. Free Wi-Fi is open to all guests.
We travelled to the Bedford Lodge Hotel and Spa in the Range Rover Velar.
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