As the trip turned into more of a gastronomic exploration of Scarborough I thought I'd go into a bit more detail....
Day 1
Lets start with the journey there, tootling along the A64 we decided to stop off for a coffee to wake us up, and maybe a bite to eat. Foolishly we stopped at a little chef, after perusing the menu we decided food may not be too good an idea and we'd settle for a cappuccino instead, I mean, how can you go wrong, it's just COFFEE and frothy MILK. Ahem, it appears Little Chef have discovered how to make a cappuccino with out using coffee or milk, what we ended up with was a mug of ever so slightly bitter, non dairy tasting froth. I shall not be stopping there again ;o)
We arrived in Scarborough and were a tad peckish, luckily for us the Solid Rock Cafe was just a short walk from the car park. Neither of us have ever been there before, but the need for a decent drink and maybe a bite to eat led us inside. All I can say is that I am so glad we did. The owners we extremely friendly, the cappuccino tasted of coffee, and the cup was certainly generous with real chocolate sprinkles and a chocolate coated espresso bean served with it. Browsing the menu I came across Eggs Benedict. I have never tried it before and so thought I'd give it a go. I am so glad I did. The poached egg was cooked perfectly, the ham was thickly sliced and the Hollandaise sauce (although from a jar) tasted delicious. It was amazing, this is a photo of mine.....
Well, ok, It looked so nice that by the time I had gotten round to taking a photo the Egg ham and muffin had been eaten, so here is a pic of Jo's instead.
We were a little peckish by the time we had made it to the Wrea Head Hotel so we settled into the bar and ordered afternoon tea for 2. It wasn't really afternoon tea but a cream tea, scones, jam, cream and biscuits. Mmmmmmmmm. The scones were warm, and with the jam and cream they were lovely.
The package we had booked at the hotel included dinner bed and Breakfast (in a Michelin recommend restaurant) and would normally have cost more than £330 (but Jo is a bargain hunter extrordinaire!) and also included Champagne and canapes on the first night. Wow, how nice was it to sit in luxurious surroundings drinking ice chilled champage and eating this.....
Absolutley delicious, Green and black olives, smoked salmon and pate, both served on melba toast, a prawn tartlet and another tartlet that was sweet, but I have no idea what was in it. Having it it just before dinner may not have been wise though.
The Four Seasons Restaurant offers a Table d’Hôte menu (usually £30) and on the first night I had North Atlantic Prawn Salad for starters (more of the smoked salmon, some smoked mackerel and som succulent prawns served on a bed of various leafy things) the ingredients were very fresh and very nice, but the mackerel flavour overpowered everything else. For main I had Flash Fried Lambs liver, served with black pudding mash and crispy bacon. It tasted delicious, the liver was cooked nicley, but the mash was a little dry and had obviously been reheated. For pudding I was going to have Orange Cheesecake, but there wasn't any left so I ended upp with Lemon mousse, it sounded delicious, but i don't know what they had done to it. One side of was just gelatine and the other side was quite coarse (similar to a posset I have been told) and it had a vague taste if lemon. Not overly impressed with the first nights fare to say how exclusive it was supposed to be. The after dinner coffee, mints and glass of Amaretto however were wonderful.
Back to the room then, with what was left of the champage and Amaretto, and time to open the bottle of White Zinfandell we had procured earlier in the day. needless to say we were both well fed and very tired.
Day 2
After dragging ourselves out of bed we went down to the restaurant for our breakfast (usually £10 extra to upgrade from continental to full english... but i have previously mentioned Jo's bargain hunting prowess). Coffee, orange juice, toast, bowl of Museli (or flaked cardboard and nuts as it tasted) and a full english, should see us through the day. I was a bit dismayed to find only one sausage and one piece of bacon, but finding that my poached egg was undercooked was a disappointment (as the gent on the next table commented, it had the consistency of snot) was enough to give us the energy to climb the mountainous slopes of Scarborough however.
Shopping is thirsty work, and just as we both decided we needed something to bolster our reserve we stumbled upon a little cafe tucked away in a side street, a little place called Roasters, the smell of coffee as you walk in is a good sign, and the hoppers of coffee beans on the wall along with the rustic decor make the initial welcome very appealing, then you catch sight of the menu board, and a little nervous tick enters your mind....that's far to cheap to be good, but we were there so might as well make the most of it. Both myself and Jo like espresso coffee, and at £1.30 a cup, we're willing to risk it. Order placed we retire to a comfy little table and I can say we were pleasantly surprised by what happened next. A very knowledgeable gentleman approached our table with our drinks, but wait, not only has he got 2 espresso cups on the tray, but 2 glasses of water (as espresso should be served), and as he places the cups and glasses on the table he explains how the espresso is made of their own blend of 3 beans, and how each bean contributes to the overall flavour of the coffee. I can only explain the taste of the coffee we then drank as "wow" hardly any bitterness, but very strong coffee flavours and slightly spicy. It was a delight to drink, and for both of us it had cost less than if we had gone to one of the well known chains.
It's a well known fact that when you go to the seaside it is compulsory to have fish and chips. With this in mind we set off for lunch. Being out of season a lot of the sea front was closed, including the chippies, but on our earlier strolls we had seen a notice for the Harbour Cafe out on the harbour wall by the lifeboat station. We walked in to a very friendly reception and ordered the special deal of 2 lots of fish and chips, mushy peas, bread and butter and a tea for £10. It took about 10 minutes to arrive as it was all cooked fresh and we never actually received the bread and butter, but to be honest, if they had brought it we wouldn't have had room for it anyway. I know people are always exaggerating about how something is the best they've ever had, but on this occasion I do believe that this was the best plate of fish an chips I had eaten. The haddock (obviously fresh) was so very moist and meaty, the chips were chunky and fluffy on the inside and were nice and dry, not leaking fat everywhere, and the peas tasted of mushy peas rather than neon green goo. I had to struggle to finish what I had been given, but I was determined not to waste any. Yet again, the staff were very friendly, and next time I am in Scarborough I know where I'll be going for my fish and chips fix. Assuming it's still there that is, being slightly out of the way means they don't get too much business when it's quiet. So any of you venturing to the coast soon I urge you to take the stroll down to the harbour and find the Harbour Cafe, it's well worth it.
You can imagine a meal like that sets you up for a while, so we didn't have anything more to eat until we got back to the hotel, but we made a discovery in a shop in Scarborough that almost had me dancing with joy. I was never a very big wine drinker, but Jo has been introducing me to various wines and together we have found some lovely varieties. My favourite to date was a wine I picked out at random as it has a picture of a giraffe on the bottle, and Jo loves giraffes. The wine in question was a Cabernet Sauvignon called Tall Horse. We first tried it a couple of months ago and have never seen it since, that is until we nipped into Rhythm and Booze just on the off chance. There on the shelf was my personal wine version of the holy grail, Tall Horse Cabernet Sauvignon. If there had been room I'd have been doing cartwheels. Best of all though, the very heplfull chap at the till checked and said that it could be ordered in at any time....and as my local off license is a rhythm and booze, you can imagine how pleased i was.
So, back to the food. Second night eating in the Four Seasons restaurant, and it's safe to say my expectations weren't too high. The first night was a little diapointing. The menu tonight had a little more variety on it though, and I opted for the pork pate and melba toast for starters. It was nice, the melba toast was home made and the tomato chutney was mildly spiced and complimented the richness of the pate well. Main course was a confit of lamb, served with minted mashed potatoes, this was all presented well, and the flavour of the lamb was delicious. We had pre-ordered pudding to avoid the disapointment of the previous night. We each had a Vanilla Creme Brulee, I have never tried it before but upon tasting what was laid before me I wish I had sampled it years before. It was sublime, the caramel top was even with no burnt patches, and as it was served in a shallow dish, every sweet mouthful had the delicate crunch of the sugar topping. The second meal in the Four Seasons made up for the first night's slightly disapointing fare, and the Creme Brulee made me forgive them for their discretions.
Day 3
Breakfast in the restaurant again. Full english, with mushrooms this time, and alas, another undercooked poached egg. I'll say no more on the Four Seasons.
Today was our last day in Scarborough, and so we didn't get to sample much in the way of culinary fare. Except of course for the espresso we had at Roasters 2, the sister cafe to the one we went in yesterday. The Ambiance and decor of the Roasters 2 isn't a patch on the original, but that is more than made up for by the extremely friendly staff and the expertly produced coffee. From their website it looks like there is a third cafe opening in Whitby too, and I would highly recommend a vist to any of them. They know their coffee, and they know customer service too.
After the delights of the Eggs Benedict on Monday we opted to return to the Solid Rock Cafe for lunch (and because we wanted to pick up some mini cupcakes - the cafe's speciality - as presents). Between us we had a Bacon and Brie Panini, and a baked potatoe with chili. Both were delicious and yet again, the staff were very welcoming and friendly, we spent a fair few minutes chatting to the owners about the cafe and the town.
Time to leave for home, but theres one last thing to do before we go.......
Yes, that is a fresh oyster. Texture of snot and tastes like the sea, really quite nice.
