REVIEW: The Great House, Lavenham, Suffolk

After we greed on visiting Lavenham, it was then down to where would we eat? I had a fabulous meal not so long ago at Maison Bleue in Bury St Edmunds, so when I found out it had a sister restaurant in this little village called The Great House, I couldn’t resist and insisted on going. The restaurant is housed in a building dating back to the 14/15th century but renovated in the 18th. Sitting next to the huge imposing fireplace in the dining room is certainly something to be seen. The other one notable thing about restaurants outside of London too, is the pricing. It’s so much cheaper. Here for lunch you’ll be paying £24.50 for a three course set lunch and wine starting around £4.95 for a large glass. One of the starters we choose off this menu was the fondue du fromage. A hearty bowl filled with a cheese fondue, soft poached egg, poached new potatoes and some crouton dippers served on the side. Sumptuous, decadent, moreish – I couldn’t fault this dish in the slightest, everything was just perfect.

Another starter was this beautifully plated piece of mackerel, glazed with a rice vinegar and ginger caramel, squares of horseradish tofu and some shredded radishes for heat and bite. Portion size on the whole was a little small, and certainly out of balance comparing to the size of the fondue. Flavour wise it was good, and the tofu squares brought a surprisingly good texture against the firm mackerel, but while everything was pleasant, it failed to excite and get those taste buds revelling for more. Perhaps if the caramel was a little more sweeter and the horseradish had more heat then this could of perhaps, given much more excitement in the mouth.

A main course of wild Devon coast turbot was served with baby leeks, girolle mushrooms, maris piper potatoes and a lemon thyme butter sauce. Another immediate thing we noticed about this course was again the out of balance portion size. The piece of fish really was rather small and the promised leek(s) were only one, along with the girolle mushrooms(s). The lack of accompaniments meant each forkful had to be careful assembled, so not to waste each before the fish was finished. That said the turbot was rather spectacular. Delicately flavoured with that lovely zesty lemon and notes of thyme running through it meant for something very special. Flavour was not a problem with this dish and everything was cooked perfectly, but there simply just wasn’t enough of it.

With some dishes my camera really doesn’t do size any justice, because on comparison to the fish this next course was perfectly portioned. Suffolk belly of pork confit for 36 hours, puy lentils, sultanas, tarragon, balsamic vinegar and a nolly prat (vermouth) jus. I can’t remember ever having tarragon with pork belly before, but it was rather lovely and made it’s way through just about everything in the dish, but not intensely so. One thing that’s been making me return to Suffolk so regularly has been for its meat. There are so many farms around and nearly every piece of meat I have eaten to date in this part of the UK has been spectacular. Chewy, sinewy or lacking in flavour just doesn’t happen in Suffolk – it’s all about quality and The Great House were no exception in its produce. Those slowly cooked chunks of pork belly were full of flavour and cut through like it were butter. A good plate of food? No, it was better than that, it was great and I want it again.

As we went through our meal, dishes strangely seemed to get even bigger. That’s not a small pile of food in the middle of that plate, it’s a huge plate with a huge pile of food on it. Five large chunks of spectacular Gressingham duck breast, roasted and complete with juicy, crispy fat. Shredded granny smith apple sat in the middle and was refreshing, but a sweeter, slower cooked version would have worked much better. Five spice sauce was heavenly and a blackcurrant reduction turned this dish in to one that everyone on my table wish they’d ordered. While their plates of food were gone in a few mouthfuls, I was still salivating over mine for a lot longer. If you make it to The Great House, order this dish – you won’t be disappointed.

Desserts turned out to be a bit of a mixed bag. A slow cooked braeburn apple was good, but chopped instead of whole, the latter which I believe is always more satisfying. The chocolate marquise (above) was a dark chocolate terrine, wrapped in a rum scented Victoria sponge, surrounded by a mandarin Napoleon sauce. It was a good dish, but the problem faced was the sponge. Leave it too long in that sauce and it quickly becomes stodgy and falls apart. The terrine was more like a mouse texture and very heavy on the dark chocolate, which I loved. Perhaps a biscuit surrounding would have been much more suited because the rum element was barely detectable too.

I again got the dish that once everyone tried, they wanted – but I wasn’t letting it go. A lime and basil centre filled this expertly cooked tart casing. Topped with a honey soft meringue and some smears of strawberry coulis, this was the perfect way to end our meal at The Great House. Lavenham is a tiny town but one certainly worth visiting if you’re passing, or visiting Suffolk. And it’s not only for the magnificent views it offers from the 15th century’s church at the centre of it all, or the crooked buildings and the villages quaint charm, there’s also another reason – and that’s to visit The Great House.

7/10