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Galloping Gourmates, WhereOnEarth. ., Stanford le Hope (2025)

17/12/2025

🚙 I headed up the 🅰️1️⃣2️⃣ & 🅰️1️⃣2️⃣0️⃣ to Harwich 🚢 today for my monthly MOT deep tissue 👐 massage 💆 with the amazing Victoria Palmer (worth every knot & ache!), and of course no visit is complete without following it up with lunch. This time it was off to the Castle Inn Harwich – and what a treat it was.

😎 I was joined by my guest Galloping Gourmates and dear friend Gemma 💃 , and we settled straight into the cosy, welcoming atmosphere of this proper old English, family-run pub .

😎 I kicked things off with my usual zero- Birra Moretti🍺, while Gemma enjoyed a crisp, light Sauvignon Blanc🍸.

🤔 Skipping starters (tho great choice, no regrets, see desserts to follow!!!), we went straight for mains.

💃 Gemma chose the Asian King Prawn Salad – King Prawns in a Sweet Chilli Sauce. On a bed of Oriental Salad with Toasted Cashew Nuts & Sesame Seeds, fresh, flavourful and beautifully presented 👌

😎 I couldn’t resist the succulent 9 oz Sirloin Steak 🥩 , cooked medium/rare perfectly, served with cauliflower cheese 🧀 and sweet potato 🍠 fries. Absolute pub-grub perfection, generous portions and cooked just perfectomundo…👌

🚨 And then… 🚨
🍨 dessert happened. We each devoured the TOFFEE & WALNUT PAVLOVA, Meringue, Vanilla Ice Cream 🍦 & our Homemade Toffee Sauce, topped with Chopped Walnuts …

😉 very naughty but oh so very nice, and the perfect way to round things off.

🏰 All in all, the Castle Inn is a lovely spot: warm, friendly, great food and a real community feel, we even grabbed some Christmas Raffle tickets, in aid of a local Hospice- fingers crossed eh…🤞❓

🎄 Ideal for this time of year and perfect for pre-Christmas lunches with friends. 👍 Highly recommended if you’re in Harwich 🚢 and fancy some fabulous, no-nonsense comfort food in a great setting 🍽️🍷😋😋😋

14/12/2025

“ 𝔹𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝔽𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝔽𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣 Galloping Gourmates ℂ𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕞𝕒𝕤 𝔽𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘…😋

☕️ The Continental Café in Maldon, Essex, has some banging festive specials on their menu throughout December, and I’ve already worked my way through three of them:

🍔 THE FESTIVE BURGER, A half pound homemade beef burger in a toasted brioche bun with smoked bacon, Cranberry sauce, blue cheese sauce and chicory. Served with chunky skin on chips.😋😋😋

🥖 THE SEASONAL CIABATTA .
A warm toasted Ciabatta filled with home roasted Turkey, sausagemeat sage and Cranberry stuffing, Cranberry sauce and Turkey gravy. Served with a salad garnish and homemade Coleslaw.😋😋😋
and the

🧀 CHUNKY CHEESY SAUSAGE ROLL, A homemade sage sausage meat, Cranberry sauce and Brie filled hot puff pastry sausage roll sprinkled with Nigella and Sesame seeds. Served with hot Turkey gravy.😋😋😋

All 3️⃣ were absolutely excellent – hearty sized, packed full of flavoursome ingredients, served and clearly made with great care.
🛍️ If you’re shopping in Maldon before Christmas, it’s well worth dropping in.
🫵 I can thoroughly recommend all 3️⃣ Festive treats I’ve tried so far…and their selection of naughty but nice Cakes are to “diet” for, not to mention their Festive range of fine Coffees and teas…!
🤨 With still 4️⃣ more Festive Specials left to try, (see menu photo!) I’ll try and pop in again soon…🚙

10/12/2025

𝔸 𝕥𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕪 𝔾𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕡𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝔾𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤 𝔽𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝔽𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕃𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟝…
🌳 Tucked away within the sunny Essex countryside, Downham Hall delivered a festive flourish for the
Galloping Gourmates end of year “bit of a lunchtime “Do”…❗️

🚙 Approaching half way down Castledon Road, off the A129, with the village church perched proudly on the nearby hill, we already felt the charm of the setting, long before reaching the historic hall itself.

🔥 Stepping inside, we were greeted by the heartwarming aroma of the log 🪵 burner fire crackling in the reception area—a perfect welcome for a December lunchtime. “The North Wing Restaurant” , though intimate in size, radiated unassuming class and easy comfort.

🎄 A long table of 10 or so ladies, enjoying their Christmas 🤶 Lunch, complete with Crackers and party hats, set the festive mood…!

📋 We were swiftly seated and handed the Downham Hall Festive Menu, which set the tone for a memorable dining experience-just 4 of each starters, mains and desserts (plus cheeseboard!) ) see photo 📋

🍄‍🟫 For starters, Frank opted for scallops whilst I chose wild mushrooms on sourdough toast—accompanied, as ever, by our trusted Zero beers, this time 🍻 Birra Moretti. Both dishes arrived promptly and were plated with real artistry. The scallops were enormous, yet delicate and beautifully balanced alongside pickled pear, and roasted shallots, while my wild mushrooms on toast were nothing short of spectacular— quite possibly the most impressive presentation of this oh so simple dish I’ve ever seen, served with a slow-poached egg yolk, shaved Pecorino on sourdough toast…👌
Our main course of Roe Deer Loin,
was a seasonal 🎄 triumph. Tender, pink, flavorful, and perfectly complemented with rustic black pudding, caramelised sprouts, and a gin and blackberry sauce , each bite oozed thoughtful preparation and festive flair.
🍧 We even found room for dessert each—sticky toffee pudding for Frank and an apple 🍏 crumble tart for moi. Both were with ice 🍨 cream, comforting, indulgent, and ideal for a winter ❄️ celebration.

☕️ Smooth Americano coffees brought our dining experience to a warm and satisfying close.🔥

🙏 All through the visit, the warmth 🔥 of Downham Hall proved most captivating. Service by Elizabeth and her team was ‘just right’ —attentive without being intrusive—and the entire experience gave the feel of “a touch of class”- predominantly a wedding 💍 venue for much of the year, the “North Wing Restaurant” promises an exciting future, with varied à la carte and locally sourced menus 📋alongside this seasonal offering.

🏠 If you have the chance to visit before Christmas, this enchanting spot is well worth the journey. Downham Hall’s festive menu left us more than a little impressed…🙌
🫵 We will- no doubt be back next year…❗️

06/12/2025

👌Wonderful Burfday Luncheon with Family for half of the Galloping Gourmates… with sister Mary Hanmore, John, cousin Ros Hone & Don…
🍺 Incredibly busy at The Black Horse, Pembury…
🦀CRAB, 🦐PRAWN AND 🥬SPINACH THERMIDOR
Fresh crab, Tiger Prawns and spinach in a light cheese sauce, with a hint of mustard. Baked with a puff pastry lid ...mixed veg and dauphinois potatoes
🥔 for moi…
🐟 Fisherman’s pie for Ros( I don’t think the Fisherman minded!) Cod, Salmon & King Scallops. With a cheesy potato top with garden peas🫛
We all followed with various ice cream based desserts, in honour of my DaD’s birthday, he so loved ❤️ his knickerbocker Glory…😋
All in all a superb Friday Family Luncheon, all dishes served and presented most attractively and beautifully seasoned and piping hot…! Despite the restaurant being rammed to the max…
Nice work Black Horse👌

01/12/2025

𝕄𝔼ℝℝ𝕐

ℂℍℝ𝕀𝕊🥃

𝕋𝕄𝔸𝕊…
To all our Galloping Gourmates Friends, Fans & Followers …🙏

(10th December our Last Lunch of 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ …😋)

27/11/2025

📅 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 Galloping Gourmates (𝔾𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕡𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝔾𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤) 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕖𝕖𝕡𝕖𝕤𝕥, 𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝔹𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕪…

🇮🇹 The Dolce Vita was visited by us in the past and now under new management, we are returning for a second time around…😋
🇮🇹The restaurant has a very welcoming atmosphere and a very Italian 🇮🇹 feel to it, The walls decked with Italian themed prints.

🍺🍺 A Peroni and a Moretti of the nil alcohol varieties started the meal.
📖 I was also delighted to see that there were almost as many dishes on the special list as were on the main menu.
🐟 I started with whitebait and a delicious tartar sauce. Always a winner and this was no exception.
🧀🥓 Chris went for a Burrata, which is mozzarella wrapped in ham, baked in a spicy 🍅 sauce.
🍽️ For the main meal I had the lamb shank with mash potato 🥔 and broccoli. 🥦
All the elements of the meal were absolutely delicious with a special hats off for the mash.

🥸 Chris had waxed lyrical about the time he had tried the Pollo Alla Milanese in Australia overlooking the ocean 🌊 , that's Chicken 🍗 Milanese to non Italian speakers😄 and yes it was delicious as evidenced by the fact he polished off the meal without speaking, despite the restaurant overlooking Billericay high street rather than the ocean 🌊 the Chicken Milanese itself did not disappoint.

🥧 We both finished with a latticed apple 🍏 pie which by the abundance of fruit it contained I suspect was very much home made.
That was topped off with coffees ☕️☕️and a complimentary Lemoncello.🥃
✅ All in all a delightful meal with friendly and knowledgeable staff and a relaxed atmosphere.
✅ Strongly recommended👍🏼👍🏼

26/11/2025

🚙 Heading over to
🇮🇹 La Dolce Vita
43 High St, Billericay for our November
Galloping Gourmates Luncheon 😋

🤔 Lunch menu or À la carte…
📷 Photos and Franks review to follow…✍️

03/11/2025

🥪 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕒 𝕗𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕊𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕖, 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕤 𝕄&𝕊’𝕤 ℕ𝔼𝕎 𝕗𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕤𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕖…
🎅”ℍ𝕆 ℍ𝕆 ℍ𝕆-ℕ𝔼𝕐 𝕄𝕌𝕊𝕋𝔸ℝ𝔻 ℍ𝔸𝕄
ℍ𝕆ℂ𝕂”🎄
𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕖𝕤𝕪 ℂ𝕠𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕤𝕙 ℂ𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕪𝕠𝕟𝕟𝕒𝕚𝕤𝕖…
(honey and mustard pulled ham hock with Cornish Cove Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise and spinach on malted bread)
🥪 Gourmates feedback:-
“A truly taste tingling combo of flavours to tickle your festive taste buds… this year’s favourite for me, for sure…”😋
❄️ NOTE:
⏰ GET IT OUT THE FRIDGE FOR AT LEAST 45mins…
“🌡️ BEST DEVOURED AT ROOM TEMPERATURE 🌡️
🚨 5% OF SALES FROM THIS ITEM GO TO Shelter …

09/10/2025

🚙 Galloping Gourmates 𝔾𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕧𝕒𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 – 🇫🇷 𝕃𝕖 𝔹𝕠𝕦𝕔𝕙𝕠𝕟 𝔹𝕣𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕖, ℍ𝕖𝕪𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕕𝕘𝕖, 𝔼𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕩…

🤔 My choice this month took us to our first lunch out in Heybridge… — a charming old French-style hotel and brasserie with a warm, welcoming atmosphere from the moment we arrived.

🍺 We started, as ever, with our Estrella 0% beers before settling into the menus.

👌 We chose the À la carte menu on this occasion, and the French Classics Set menu was excellent, great value and popular with many diners, as we discovered later…!🍽️

🧅 Frank chose the French onion soup 🥣 and cheddar croute, a comforting classic, while I fancied the Honey glazed duck breast, chicory 🥬 , orange o, & pine nut 🥗, beetroot purée, presented so artistically and cooked to perfection.😋

🍽️ For our mains, we both enjoyed the Baked Skate 🐟 off the bone, warm tartare potatoes, Lobster 🦞 cream , beautifully prepared and full of subtle flavours (first time we’ve ever had skate off the bone, an intriguing skill in itself…❗️)

💃 Service from Emma and the team was excellent throughout — attentive without being intrusive — and the restaurant was pleasantly busy for a Wednesday lunchtime.

Chef 👨🏻‍🍳 Ben even took the time to pop out and share the secret behind their baked skate wing speciality: fish carefully sliced from both sides off the bone, rolled together , and baked — a skill that, as Ben explained, relies on patience, practice and a very,very sharp knife!🔪

🎃 Frank finished with Pumpkin pie, while I enjoyed an affogato (espresso over homemade vanilla ice cream) and to round off a thoroughly enjoyable dining experience a couple of rich Americano’s, ☕️☕️ to set us up for the return journeys…!

All in all, Le Bouchon Brasserie proved to be a delightful spot — traditional, welcoming, and clearly popular. Excellent food, friendly service, and a classic French charm made it another fine outing for the Galloping Gourmets.

08/10/2025

🇫🇷 Smashing October Galloping Gourmates visit to Le Bouchon Brasserie & Hotel, Heybridge, Essex…🚙
(Full review and mouthwatering photos, to follow…📸❗️)

🤔 Did we ‘Set Menu’ or À la carte…❓

26/09/2025

👌 “We enjoyed it so much, we Galloping Gourmates returned for Round 2️⃣ a few months later…‼️”
(Full review and all photos, scroll back to Sept 2024…!)

19/09/2025

🧡 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 🎨𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕪 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕠𝕗 𝕓𝕖𝕪𝕠𝕟𝕕 𝕒𝕤 CHRIS 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕚𝕥... 🗺️ ❗️
🚙 This month saw us Galloping Gourmates at the Red Lion 🦁 in East Bergholt.
🏰 The Restaurant is a mixture of old and recently refurbished , giving it a pleasant modern feel.
🤔 Unfortunately for us the
new owners had only taken over a fortnight before our visit so the menu 📜 was somewhat limited.
🍻 The traditional non alcoholic “Birra Moretti Zero” was welcomed and breaking the habit of a lifetime we decided to forgo any starters, going straight for the main course.
😋 I had the fish 🐟 and chips 🍟 with mushy 🫛 peas.
🍽️ The portions were excellent. A large piece of succulent fish 🐟 wrapped in a delicious crunchy batter. This together with the fat chips 🍟 and dish of mushy 🫛 peas is all I could ask for❗️
🥸 Chris went for Flat Iron Steak 🥩, served rare… , rocket 🚀 and parmesan 🧀 salad 🥗 with skinny fries 🍟 and a chimichurri sauce, savoured with French 🇫🇷 mustard on the side…😬
✅ Again the portion size was excellent and Chris assured me it was delicious.😋
🍨 For our dessert we both plumped for the Eton 🍓Mess and were served with an enormous dish which provided us with a sugar rush that lasted all day. Absolutely 😋delicious …❗️
☕️☕️ We both finished with coffees which brought our delightful meal at the Red Lion 🦁 to a close.
😋 All in all, a splendid meal 🥘 in a splendid location with a very reasonable bill 🧾 .✅✅

https://www.facebook.com/thelioneastbergholt.co.uk

Galloping Gourmates

17/12/2025

14/12/2025

10/12/2025

06/12/2025

01/12/2025

27/11/2025

26/11/2025

03/11/2025

09/10/2025

08/10/2025

26/09/2025

19/09/2025

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