The Brackenbury

I ate at the Brackenbury yesterday and had an excellent meal off the fixed menu. Sardine fritters, very nice and crisp. Then mussels in white wine, which my daughter and I both loved, followed by raspberry pud, forget wjhat, but very nice. VERY good service, lovely sunny day, under the awning on the pavement. Highly recommended. I hadn't been for a long time, my how it has improved.
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Dick Warner
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7
Thursday, September 06, 2007

My wife and I went this week as it is our local. The welcome was warm and friendly by the two French waiters. The menu was uninspiring however with the Gruyere omelette having been on it for at least nine years! I had an OK starter of ham and gherkin ballotine. The main courses we chose were sea bass and tuna. My wifes sea bass was delicious. I was told by the waiter that my tuna would be rare which I was delighted with. However when it came it was mediun to well done. We then had a sticky toffee pudding to share which should have been called a sticky toffee sponge and was a bit dry. We each had a liqueur and the bill came to £83 which I felt was expensive. We wont be going back as we have such a wide choice of restaurants in the area
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Jonathan Payne
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 1
Thursday, October 26, 2006

The best restaurant in town. Gorgeous food, friendly staff, pleasant atmosphere. Highly recommended.
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Elena
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Monday, May 29, 2006

First time visit on a very wet cold evening. Warm welcome, cosy dining room great food and service. Leek and potato soup 'as good as mine', lovely goats cheese risotto with interesting drizzle of tapenade, perfectly cooked cod and haddock mains. Good value wine list. With one scrumptious dessert and coffee; total bill with 12.5% sc was 75 pounds for two. We'll be back
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Gregor and Margaret Dixon
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Lunchtime, a Wednesday: set course lunch, £12.50. For this you get 2 (two) baby squid stuffed with about twenty grains of risotto each. Main course: char-grilled chicken with potatoes and white beans. The potatoes came in little cubes and, bizarrely, half of them were undercooked to the point of crunchiness. The chicken was fine. The dessert - panna cotta -- was fine. The service, despite a not-very-busy restaurant, was slow enough for us to have to try and attract attention every time we were ready to order anything. I've been there a few times. Today was my last.
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Nicholas Lezard
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Bad service, bad food and overpriced - a classic combination. Not sure why people rave about this restaurant as it offers nothing unique. We waited ten minutes before we were even offered a drink. Do not go to this restaurant if you want to a good time.
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Pat Murphy
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Excellent food, good value winelist. The bill came in at £40 per head, for 3 courses and one bottle of wine, though I suspect that most of the well-heeled Brackenbury clientele aren't too bothered about cost. The decor is very homely, with wobbly tables, closely spaced in a small room, which means you can overhear everyone's conversation. I'd recommend this place for the food, wine and service, if not for the subdued atmosphere.
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Mrs S
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 8
Monday, January 30, 2006

We dined there on a saturday and were very happy with the whole experience. Service was just attentive enough, not overbearing, just as I like it, and this place defines cosiness in terms of its decor and ambiance.

The food? Lovely. It's an eclectic menu that's for sure, but far from pompous. The other half's artichoke and almond soup won the starter round, although my tetaki tuna was perfectly acceptable. On the mains, my roasted cod was done perfectly, I kid you not, and her sea bass seemed to please. Pudding was an interesting take on bread and butter, using panatone doused in creme anglais.

Try this place, they do what they do well.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, December 18, 2005

I dined at the brackenbury on a busy saturday evening. All in all I left a little dissapointed. My starter of a truffled poached egg was overcooked ontop of a piece of burnt brioche cleverly hidden by the mushroom duxelle but still the charred flavour was apparent. It had a few token pieces of sliced truffle on top but no truffle flavour. My main of partridge was cooked at such a high heat the outside of the breast was extremely dry and tough and if you use creponette it needs to be cooked down because i dont appreciate chewing on the inside of a pigs stomach. On the other side though, my girlfriends starter of queen scallops and cod main course were both spot on and also my desert of sticky toffee pudding was wonderful with a great sauce and clotted cream. This place could be so much better if just a few of the simpler things were done better.
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Jon Coates
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Like eating food you wish you could cook in the posh sitting room you can't afford. Lovely intimate cosy atmosphere in winter, sunny terrace in summer. Good food all year round. Local favourite, but it never seems toooo busy, bizarrely. A more formal alternative to the Angelsea Arms, but less glitzy than Chez Kristof.
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OD - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Friday, November 25, 2005