THE STICKS - Food and Drink

 

JAMIE OLIVER LAUNCHES A NEW RESTAURANT 

AT THE MALTINGS, ST ALBANS

Jamie’s Italian’s first Hertfordshire venue opened on 6th February  

Stretching over two floors in the bustling Maltings Shopping Centre, St Albans ,Jamie Oliver’s 25th Jamie’s Italian restaurant, the first of this chain to open in Hertfordshire.

Located in the former Bell Public House alongside several other eating establishments within the 23,225 sq metre shopping centre, the restaurant will include an external seating area and establishes this location as St Albans’ mecca for foodies.

The restaurant chain’s portfolio includes 25 venues in the UK and reflects the high standard of brands located in the Maltings Shopping Centre, which includes Kurt Geiger, Topshop, Benefit, Bare Essentials, Office and Optical Express, among others.

The concept of Jamie’s Italian is based on the creation of accessible and affordable venues which have a local feel, where people can relax and enjoy each other's company as well as exceptional food made with simple, fresh ingredients, prepared and cooked with love and passion. 

Simon Blagden, Group Managing Director of Jamie Oliver Restaurants comments:

Opening our first Hertfordshire Jamie’s Italian is an exciting new venture for us. The Maltings is the ideal location for the restaurant as it is located centrally and offers guests a place to enjoy great food and a relaxing atmosphere after a long day of shopping”.

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THE FOX AT WILLIAN SCOOPS TOP RECOGNITION

Its celebrations all round at The Fox at Willian which has been named as one of the Top 50 Gastropubs in the UK in The Publican’s Morning Advertiser ‘Budweiser Budvar Awards 2012’.


James Nye, Managing Director of the Fox said, 'It is a huge accolade and an immense honour to receive this recognition which is obviously the hospitality industry's choice. The team at The Fox is to be congratulated; it is their passion, hard work and commitment that has won us this amazing award. The Fox is growing from strength to strength and we now feel we are up there alongside top establishments in the UK. There's no stopping us now and this award sits nicely alongside a string of other recent national awards - Best Cask Beer Pub in South East, Best Fish & chips in UK & Hertfordshire's Dining Pub of the Year 2011 as voted by The Good Pub Guide.'

The Fox is part of the Anglian Country Inns Ltd group which owns three other hospitality establishments in East Anglia.

Says Jo Bruce from The Publican’s Morning Advertiser ‘Our team of regional chairs polled hundreds of gastropubs operators, top chefs, food writers, pub guide editors, catering development managers and pub co and restaurant bosses to vote for their favourite pubs in these prestigious awards’. At the Publican¹s Morning Advertiser we strive to celebrate the achievements of Britain¹s fantastic gastropubs, who lead the way with their business innovation and menu ideas, premium drink offers and are the cream of the pub industry. To ensure each region of the UK has an equal opportunity for their pubs to shine; our voting panel is broken down into eight geographical voting regions, with an equal number of votes collected in each by the Top 50 Gastropubs Voting Academy. Each voter is asked for their choice of the top four gastropubs they have visited in the past year.’

The Publican's Morning Advertiser editor Rob Willock says ‘These awards really are the industry's choice and it is fantastic for the gastropubs voted into the Top 50 to get recognition from such a prestigious panel of voters.’

The awards are being run in association with Budweiser Budvar as headline partner. Tony Jennings, CEO of Budweiser Budvar UK says ‘Great beers deserve great food and that¹s why Budvar are delighted to sponsor this spectacular hunt to find the UK's best gastropubs.’

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 Restaurant Review

 

 

The Fox at Willian on the outskirts of Letchworth is a multi award winning Gastro pub so “The Sticks“ went along for lunch to see why it had won so many prizes.

 

As you enter the restaurant you can see the rustic interior and the wonderfully decorated bar area; both were clean and bright. Here I received a warm greeting from the staff and was seated at my table. The menu for lunch, as for dinner, offers a very comprehensive choice, with a cornucopia of interesting and unique selections on the monthly changing menus.

For starter I chose the truffle infused smoked salmon and scrambled egg parcel with watercress puree and horseradish sauce. This was an amazing combination with the egg off-setting the slight saltiness of the salmon complemented by the taste of watercress and horseradish sauce.

 

For main course - pan seared lamb’s liver with bubble and squeak beneath a bed of wilted spinach dressed with hazelnut buerre noisette and jus. The liver was so tender, moist and full of flavour - gently cooked with a crisp outer layer. The bubble and squeak was seasoned to perfection, and the hazelnut buerre noisette was an interesting combination that I had not come across before but which works so well.

 

For dessert I asked the waitress to recommend her favourite which was the cappuccino crème brulee with homemade almond biscotti and topped with chocolate coffee beans. This generous portion, presented in a large orange coffee cup, had a full coffee flavour and was so smooth with wonderfully crisp biscotti. This certainly did not disappoint, and was a marvellous way to end a great meal

 

 

 

The service was very swift even though the restaurant was almost full and the waiting staff are obviously well trained and definitely know how to treat customers well.  

 

So, all in all a truly fabulous dining experience for business or pleasure and I can see why they win awards year after year.

The restaurant is open for lunch Mon-Sat 12-2pm & 12-3pm on Sunday, Dinner, Mon-Thurs 6.45pm -9pm Friday, Saturday 6.30 -9.15pm

The Fox also offers a bar menu every lunchtime and evenings Monday –Thursday and Saturday from 2pm -6pm

                           

                                      To book telephone 01462 480233 or

 

               check out their website www.foxatwillian.co.uk