What a treat!!
The second stop on my days of deliciousness was dinner and an overnight stay at Kesgrave Hall, just outside Ipswich.
Kesgrave hall is an imposing, grand old pile dating from the early 19th century. It's had various functions over its lifetime, and its current incarnation is as a hotel and restaurant.
We were there en masse for a family party with guests ranging in age from 6 months to 81 years and I'll say from the start that it was wonderful! As I said in a previous post, the event had originally been organised to celebrate Gummie's 80th birthday. Sadly she passed away just before Christmas but we all felt that it would be a nice idea to go ahead with the party as a chance for us to gather and remember Gummie together.
The Portsmouth contingent (uncle, aunt, three cousins, their other halves, a 6 year old, 6 month old and large black labrador called Denzil) arrived mid-afternoon, having picked up Grampie on the way, and soon settled in to their very comfortable rooms. One of the (many) nice things about Kesgrave Hall is that they allow dogs in some of their rooms - a real bonus for those of us that struggle to be parted from our pampered pooches!
My partner and I arrived shortly afterwards and were shown to our little bit of luxury for the night. We were in a "standard" room which, at £140 per night for a Saturday stay, wasn't cheap (my dad VERY generously offered to treat us to a night there so that we didn't have to drive the 30ish miles home after the dinner). However it really was lovely!! The room itself wasn't huge but it still managed to accommodate a very comfortable double bed, wardrobe containing mini fridge, tea/coffee making materials and matching wooden coat hangers!! Is it really snobby that it bugs me when hotels don't trust you not to nick the hangers? And heaven forfend they should be of the plastic, shop-style non-matching variety!! Anyway......... The en suite was a good size with a bath/shower which had one of those groovy, massive round chrome shower heads. The window was huge and overlooked the beautiful grounds with nice thick curtains helping to keep the heat in and freezing cold out. And I must comment on the heating. Oh my word, the heating. I don't think I've ever been anywhere so warm on a freezing February day. To be honest, we ended up turning it right down because it was getting a bit sauna-like, and I dread to think how much it must cost them to heat the place to that level, but it was nice to be so cosy for a while.
The restaurant at Kesgrave Hall is a really nice space with tasteful decorations and a very well stocked bar. The menu is extensive and changed on a regular basis. The way you have to order your preferred combination of the dishes, side dishes, vegetable options etc, is a little on the complicated side, but once you've got the hang of it, I really rather like the informal atmosphere / smart food combo.
As there were 17 of us (plus baby) we had booked "the Mess" - a huge room containing a vast table and sumptuously comfortable chairs. It also houses a sound system and a HUGE tv, which we put to good use watching England beat France in the 6 nations early on in the evening. Did I say beat, I meant ANNIHILATE!!! He he he he!
Once everyone arrived and we had all finally organised ourselves at the table, on came the food. And, oh it was good! There was bread and olives (bread - very very good, olives - vile as far as I'm concerned but most people seemed to think they were delicious), and then the starters. We had pre-ordered our food as we were a large party and the efficiency nazi in me was highly impressed that all our orders had been printed onto little place cards which we grabbed before we sat down and put in front of our place settings at the table so that the waiting staff didn't have to wander around the table with plates of terrine, risotto and duck spring rolls, getting more and more annoyed because we're too busy chatting to pay them the courtesy of listening to them asking what we ordered so that we get it while it's still hot!! Ahem, sorry, I used to work in a pub that did a lot of Christmas work parties and it drove me MAD that people (a) couldn't remember what they'd ordered, and (b) didn't bloody listen, so you end up wandering up and down with large and heavy plates calling out "soup...anyone for soup.....who ordered the soup.......anyone......" at increasing volume and with an ever building desire to tip it in their bloody laps!! I made the decision very early on that I wasn't cut out to be a waitress - it's a true art requiring patience and a level of tolerance for a**eholes that I just don't possess. Right, with that rant out of the way, I'll continue.
Back to the starter, I had ordered course country pate, celeriac remoulade (thinly sliced pieces of celeriac with a mustardy mayonnaise type thing - I didn't know either so looked it up!), gherkins and toasted sourdough, and it was delicious, and very substantial. The pate was chunky, meaty and really beautifully flavoured. The bread was very good, as was the remoulade. For my main course I had opted for spicy harissa chicken, pomegranate couscous and tsatziki. The chicken was very good indeed, and the couscous was tasty but I could have done without the pomegranate seeds in it if I'm completely honest. Other main courses on offer included sea bream, cod, 28 day dry aged steak, and rump of lamb. All of which were apparently superb. I must say the steak looked mouthwatering and I did get a touch of food envy when I saw it! I had decided to go for the cheese selection rather than pudding, and very good it was too! Four different types of cheese (brie, cheddar, smoked cheddar, and a blue of some sort) came out presented on a slate (bit poncy but did look quite nice) with really good seedy biscuits, celery, grapes and very nice fig chutney. The other pudding options all looked amazing and it was a bit of a shame that most of us were so full by then they didn't all get finished. My favourite was the strawberry Arctic roll (or "artic" roll as was printed on the place cards, which did make my inner pedant giggle a bit, imagining that the dessert was going to turn up the size of a massive lorry!) with elderflower and hibiscus jelly and toasted oat crumb. Sounds a bit w**ky but actually looked really pretty and, I'm told, was gorgeous! Tea, coffee and very good truffles followed to round off a seriously delicious meal.
I must say something about the service - from arrival, throughout dinner and all the way to departure every member of staff we encountered was utterly delightful. They were polite, friendly and helpful throughout, even when having to dodge a six year old Spiderman running round and round the table. Nothing was too much trouble, and the lady who was in charge of looking after us (who did tell me her name but I'm ashamed to say I've forgotten it already) was just lovely. From beginning to end every single person made sure we had everything we needed, and more, and the whole experience was an absolute pleasure.
I would highly recommend Kesgrave Hall to anyone, whether you just want a bite of lunch, a three course meal or a bit of luxury for an overnight stay. It's not cheap (though if you just want to go for a meal I don't think it's outrageous at all), but for a special treat it really is worth every penny.
www.milsomhotels.com/kesgravehall/default.aspx
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