My gastronomic weekend was rounded off with a visit to the Crown Inn at Marston Montgomery for Sunday lunch. Winner of the Derbyshire Food and Drink awards, for best pub/bistro of 2006. After a 30 minute tour of some Derbyshire country lanes (" I told you to turn right at that last roundabout!") we finally fell on the tiny hamlet of Marston Montgomery (about 8 miles south of Ashbourne).The low beamed ceiling, warm red decor and old leather sofas gave the bar area a friendly feeling, and the young staff were courteous. Pint of Tim Taylor in hand and I was settling in well.
I had a starter of boudin blanc with brunoise vegetables, Bec had the game terrine with onion marmalade, both fresh and well presented plates, any remaining sauce & dressing was mopped up with the complimentary fresh bread. Moroccan shoulder of lamb with parsnip gratin pour moi, Roast rib eye of Derbyshire beef with chateau potatoes & Yorkshire pudding for Bec. I made a poor choice with the Moroccan lamb, Sunday's are about roasts, Yorskhire's and gravy, not apricots, cinnamon and nuts. It was good, but Bec had the right idea. The presentation was again modern and fresh, only the slightly charred parsnip gratin and the fact we had to fight over the one piece of broccoli in the bowl of shared veg, gave us any cause for complaint. Second pint of Tim Taylor and the car key was shoved in Bec's direction.
For a finale we had a portion of sticky toffee pudding and a slice of lemon torte, again the plates looked attractive and each came with a couple of hand made biscuits. There wasn't quite enough butterscotch sauce for my sticky toffee, but I'm one of those people that need lots of custard with the likes of Christmas pudding, when the custard or sauce runs out, it's game over for me. All in all, it was well worth the money, all starters were £3.95, mains £7.95 and puddings £3.95. A worthy winner. Just make sure you've got sat nav before you go!
Food 7.5/10
Service 8/10
Venue 7.5/10
Tel: 01889 591576
www.thecrowninn-derbyshire.co.uk
"Stranded, I'm so far from home" (I'm Stranded, The Saints, 1976)
Martin, Sunday 28th January 2007
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