Food Reviews Restaurants

Sunday lunch at The Grey Lady, Newtown Linford

Sunday lunch at The Grey Lady

I recently blogged about the Grey Lady Kitchen & Deli which opened earlier this year and at the same time, waxed lyrical about how as a child, the older Grey Lady restaurant (further up the hill and out of Newtown Linford) was the place we always used to go for Sunday dinner with my Nanna and Grandad on special occasions. In those days it was a carvery (albeit a very nice one) whereas now, under the leadership of the original owners son, its a much fancier a la carte affair.

The Grey Lady Newtown Linford

Sadly, it’s just Nanna these days and this year, for her birthday she asked for experiences and memories rather than physical gifts so I decided to treat her to a posh Sunday dinner. We went to the Grey Lady. A place filled with family memories but scrubbed up a bit and certainly a little bit special!

They do a set lunch on Sundays – 3 courses for £22. The choice is limited (as it should be) and changes frequently. To start, I opted for the mushroom risotto with foam and a parmesan crisp – isn’t it pretty!? It tasted absolutely amazing too. As you can see from the shape, this one made it straight onto my instagram account.

mushroom risotto with foam and a parmesan crisp
The chicken and bacon terrine with deep fried crispy mozzarella and sweetcorn relish surprised me – I have to say, I’ve never been a fan of breaded or fried mozzarella – it always seems a bit.. well.. bland. Save it for your pizza. The terrine on the other hand was delish. The prawns and salmon  served simply with pea shoots and crusty buttered bread.
prawns and salmon with pea shoots and crusty buttered bread. 

Although she’s not online, Na knows all about my blog and knew that she wasn’t allowed the same as me (ahem..) so I was most pleased when she diverted away from the pork to order the roast chicken. Interestingly it came with fondant potatoes and a blue cheese stuffed mushroom. Of course I had pork chop – no surprises there – and it came as a thick but moist chop complete with crackling! An apple sauce and crispy apple fritter complimented the gravy perfectly. I will admit that I asked for more! I’m a gravy monster.

Dave had the roast beef – again, no surprises – cooked pink and thinly sliced and served with a humongous yorkie pud! They served buttered baby new potatoes and seasonal vegetables on the side, all cooked to perfection although to be honest we probably didn’t need the potatoes seeing as we all had a form of them on our plates. Saying that, they were delicious though and something Na remembered from years gone by! clearly passed down from father Gibson to son Gibson!

Roast chicken, fondant potato and blue cheese mushroom
thick cut pork chop with apple sauce and an apple fritter
Roast beef and yorkshire pudding
Pudding flew by in a dream of ice creams, sorbets, foams and chocolate. We all loved every element on the plates – from Na’s apple parfait with different textures of apple to my blueberry ice-cream and chocolate with pistachio and lighter than air meringues. Oh and Dave had a three chocolate mousse (of course).
three chocolate mousse
apple parfait
blueberry ice-cream and chocolate
After lunch, we went and sat outside with our coffees. The setting has always been lovely, right on the edge of Bradgate Park, but this particular Sunday the place looked amazing. Bright blue skies and the left over decorations from a wedding the previous day.

Every time I go back, I find I’m more and more impressed with this place. If I really really think a about it, my only criticism would be the music – the place on that Sunday was full of families and the music was a bit too poppy and a bit too loud. Seemed at odd with the rest of the experience which was excellent. Anyway, it’s a very small gripe and overall, I just love these guys and everything they do. Check out my review of their midweek lunch menu not long after their refurb here and their new Kitchen & Deli in the same village here.

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