When there’s a baby in the house, opportunities for a night out become few and far between.  Those that do arise are grabbed with both hands and anticipated with much excitement.  So I was delighted to have the chance to head out to The Rope & Anchor in Dunham recently to dine with a couple of good friends whilst H babysat.  A chance to have conversations that didn’t revolve around babies, weaning and sleep patterns!

As you can imagine, to then be disappointed is doubly depressing.

Having viewed the menu online I had already got the impression that this was a very ‘meat’ friendly restaurant, lots of sausages, steaks, pies and so on.  It happened that that evening I really fancied fish, so I was relieved to see that the specials board had just what I was looking for – grilled sea bass, with wok fried noodles and vegetables in a soy and ginger sauce.  Yum.  Something delicately flavoured and oriental sounded just the thing.

Now far be it from me to tell a chef how to do his job, and those two large pieces of fish were, to be fair, quite juicy.  But I’d be very surprised if they were grilled.  There was a decidedly pan-fried look and taste about them – far too golden and crispy to be grilled.  I’m happy to be corrected but all I’m saying is if my grill did that to my fish…

And the noodles and veg….I was looking forward to a light, delicately tangy accompaniment.  What I actually got was noodles that were so oily they left a film on my lips, and just not enough veg.  It was tasty, but greasy.  And strangely none of the flavours had reached the fish, which I always think is a shame.  For nearly £17 it just wasn’t good enough.

Sadly neither of my companions were bowled over by their dishes either, one of (slightly pink looking) sausage and mash, and the other of salmon which again was underwhelming.

The situation was rescued slightly with the pudding – my blueberry, lemon and almond cake was warm and comforting but most of the lemon flavour seemed to be in the three little drops of lemon curd on the plate, each artistically mounted with a blueberry, rather than in the sponge.

All in all, I expected more, and was disappointed.  My meals out are more of a treat now than ever, and whether it’s fair or not, I want to be impressed every time.  And this time, I just wasn’t.

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