December 20th, 2008
After walking around Pickering, we wanted a spot of lunch. The nice people in the Art Shop we had just visited recommended Mulberries on Bridget Street. Entering at around 2pm, the lights were out, but we were greeted by a friendly looking chap who said they were still serving food in response to our question. We sat at a table near the small window and next to a glowing electric fire. The friendly chap then turned the lights on for us and an assistant took our order. We both went for the Carrot and Ginger Soup at £3.50. To follow, I chose the Home Made Cottage pie with vegetables from the specials menu and Paul opted for a Roast Port with Apple Bap.
This is a small restaurant / coffee shop. It had a look of a mediterranean cafe about it with white washed walls and bare brickwork showing in places. It was very nice and clean but I got the feeling that it hadn’t quite decided whether it wanted to be a restaurant or an upmarket coffee shop.
Anyway, after a short while, the soup arrived. It was excellent. No other way to describe it. Piping hot, perfectly seasoned and clearly home cooked. Served up with warm crusty bread it was just what was needed to counteract the winter weather outside. The mains quickly followed. Pauls Roast Pork Bap was again excellent. Moist, tender and accompanied by warm freshly cooked apple slice. I took a bite myself to check and it was worth every penny of the £3.50 cost! A bargain for that price, given in most places you pay that for a limp takeaway sandwhich.
My cottage pie (£5.95) however was a little bit of a disappointment. It was tasty enough but the minced beef used looked as though it had come out of a can. This was a major surprise given my starter was so excellent. Accompanied by roasted parsnips I was just left a little unhappy.
As we left, a young boy was closing up the restaurant for the afternoon at around 3pm. Our total bill came to £18 which for lunch was fantastic value indeed. I think this place could be onto a real winner. The setting was certainly perfect for a cosy meal with other quiet respectful diners. We’ll pop back some time to see how they are getting on.
Pryordurkin rating 3 Stars.
Posted in Food and Drink
Thank you for your comments, however, our minced beef is NEVER from a can. Our food is freshly
prepared on the premises and our suppliers are local as far as is practical – all meats are
purchased from butchers located in Pickering itself.
To clarify, Mulberries operates as both a coffee shop and restaurant at weekend evenings. The
high standard of food is due to my background as a chef. I therefore take any feedback very
seriously and encourage diners to raise any concerns they have at the time of their visit.
Thanks Dean for the comment. As indicated we only felt the minced beef looked as though
it had come out of a can, which given everything else was excellent, would indeed have
been a surprise. We’ll come back again to do another review and then update the posting
because as mentioned, we think you could be onto a real winner here as the rest of our
food was indeed excellent.
Best Regards, Michael