The Castle, Bradford on Avon
12:45pm Friday 12th June 2009 in
Run by Pierre Woodford, who once ran Terence Conran’s Bibendum restaurant in London, The Castle is a successful fusion of comfort, class and English pub grub.
Since its impressive makeover in 2007, the Flatcappers chain has turned the 18th century pub into the place to be. Split into two dining rooms with space for 90 people, one featuring plush leather sofas, the pub’s interior is warm and welcoming, with pillar church candles on the tables and warm chocolate-coloured décor.
You can’t book, and arriving at 8.30pm on a Thursday we found the place buzzing with only two spare tables.
There is an impressive wine list, ranging from a Chilean El Viento chardonnay or merlot at £12.95, up to a Uruguayan Boyjo Albarino white at £27 or the red Vina Boscania Reserve rioja alta at £31.95 a bottle.
For starters I opted for smoked salmon, cream cheese and chives on crostini with a salad (£5.50) – a perfectly sized starter which stimulates the tastebuds but doesn’t dampen the hunger.
Tim went for summer vegetable broth with toasted ciabatta (£4.50). For mains, I chose a grilled chicken, bacon and brie club sandwich on a malted bloomer with salad and fries (£8.95), and found it so packed with salad and meat it could only be eaten by hand.
Tim chose Wiltshire cured ham with two eggs, chunky chips and swapped the mixed salad for veg (£10.25). The vegetables included asparagus and sweet potato – an imaginative combination which sets the pub’s food apart from many others.
We were too full to try one, but the desserts at neighbouring tables looked divine.
Our meal, plus a side dish of olives and two pints of lager, came to just over £37.
The Castle, Mount Pleasant, Bradford on Avon, BA15 1SJ (01225) 865657.
No car park, just space for about five cars on driveway
No bookings
Well-kept beer garden
Draught beers include varieties from the Three Valleys brewery in Pewsey, Box Steam Brewery and Flatcapper’s own branded ales
Town Council award winner
Our Eating Out is an independent review carried out by the Wiltshire Times without prior knowledge of the owners.
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