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| Starters & Snacks |
| Half dozen rock oysters grilled with tarragon & garlic butter Small fork Mersea is an island just off the Essex coast there have been oyster beds there since Roman times. Our oysters are usually pacific or rock oysters. Number 3s 0s are the largest over 150g 5 the smallest 30-45g. We sometimes have native Colchester oysters, these are twice as expensive because they take twice as long to grow. |
| Half dozen local rock oysters Small fork Shallot vinegar Tabasco served raw with shallot vinegar (simply very finely chopped shallots and red wine vinegar) |
| Smoked mackerel pâté, pickles & bread Knife & fork, salt & pepper Smoked mackerel flaked, cream cheese sour cream lemon juice and seasoning preserved under butter. |
| Serrano ham & pickles Knife & fork, olive oil Serrano is air cured Spanish ham similar to the French Bayon or Italian Parma, but don’t let any Spaniards hear you say that. It is cured for 18 months and the pigs live mostly on acorns. At Christmas we have one from a black leg pig that is three years old and fed entirely on acorns. |
| Sobrasada ( hot chorizo pate) on baguette with honey Knife & fork, salt & pepper Sobrasada is a Spanish, cured sausage made with ground pork, paprika and salt and other spices. This is spread on a thickly sliced bit of baguette and grilled. At the point of serving honey is drizzled over the toasted meat. |
| Sea trout gravadlax, dill & horseradish crème fraiche, black bread Knife & fork, salt & pepper Gravadlax is a traditional Scandinavian method of preservation, the fish is coated in salt and herbs and allowed to cure. Most places use Salmon but we do it with sea trout. |
| Homemade soup with crusty bread, see chalkboard. Knife & Spoon, salt & pepper The soup changes on a regular basis, be sure to look at the specials board for what flavour it is today. Usually served with chunks of baguette and butter. |
| Grilled goats cheese salad, pickled carrot, nuts, roasted grapes & croutons Knife & fork, salt & pepper Does what it says on the tin, its a nice fresh salad with grilled goats cheese on the top. |
| Sharing PLATTERS |
| NACHOS Knife & fork and an extra napkin Melted cheese, Jalapeño chillies (pronounced jalapeno), dips usually aioli, sour cream and tomato salsa. Add some Sliced picante (spicy) chorizo |
| SEAFOOD PLATTER Knife & fork, crackers, pickers, side plate salt & pepper Lobster or Crab or Langoustines – check the board Oysters, Roll Mop, North Atlantic Prawns, Home cured Gravadlax, Smoked Mackerel Pate, Anchovies, bread, butter & Sauces |
| SHEEPS CHEESE SHARING PLATTER Cheese Knife and a side plate Served with bread, crackers, butter, local medlar jam, homemade quince paste & dates. Splendid to share or not….. This is a great opportunity to upsell some port – have a look at the spirits section of this guide for details. |
| Main courses |
| Alma spicy crab linguini with garlic bread Knife & fork, salt & pepper Harwich crab meat (brown and white) with linguini (flat spagetti) garlic, chilli, fennel seeds and a touch of lemon. |
| Whole Harwich lobster grilled with garlic butter chips & salad K&F S&P Crackers & Pickers bowl for shells Vinegar Ketchup mayo Bring finger bowl if asked |
| Fish & Chips -with chips, peas and Alma tartare sauce Knife & fork, salt & pepper, ketchup and malt vinegar Southwold batter Harwich varieties of fish are : Cod Large squeaky white flakes. Skate a variety of ray no bones but you must scrape the flesh off the wings. Nuss or rock eel a variety of shark no bones sweet white flesh The innkeepers favourite Non Harwich varieties: Haddock smaller flakes and creamier taste and colour than cod, Pollock Very similar to cod. All our chips are made in house from potatoes we do not serve frozen chips. |
| Seaweed steeped banana blossom “fish” and chips with vegan tartare Knife & fork, salt & pepper, ketchup and malt vinegar Banana blossom is genuinely the flower from the end of a banana, for years this has been fed to animals and then somebody had the bright idea of feeding it to vegetarians. We treat it just like fish and chips and batter the blossom before deep frying it. To make the dish vegan friendly we make special tartare sauce (normal one has egg in the mayo). |
| Steak, chips, mushrooms, tomato, wilted spinach and peas Steak knife & fork S&P KETCHUP MAYO THREE MUSTARDS Fillet Most expensive cut of meat very tender but less flavour, the harder a muscle works the more flavour it has the fillet lies behind the ribs doing nothing! Sirloin is a cut for those who like it easy all the fat is on one side its medium tender and medium tasty Rib eye is more tender because it has a fatty eye running through it Skirt is also known as hanger steak, flat iron steak, butchers steak or in French its onglet. It’s from the belly/diaphragm six pack of a cow it has no fat and is very tasty but slightly chewy ,for this reason we serve it cut across the grain. The Innkeepers favourite. Rump does what it says on the tin its tough but tasty the fat if it has any usually lies to one side or the other. T bone is the best of both worlds it has both fillet on one side and sirloin on the other. Its great to share. Most t Bones are about a 1kg. Tomahawk is a ribeye on the bone again its mostly a sharing steal the smallest it comes is about 1 KG Blue Cheese sauce or Peppercorn sauce Blue cheese is cream and blue cheese, peppercorn sauce is basically gravy with crushed green peppercorns and cream. Don’t forget to ask how the steak should be cooked. |
| Hand pressed 8oz Cheeseburger, chips & onion rings Knife & fork, salt & pepper, mayo ketchup and malt vinegar 100% Beef mince with seasoning |
| Home made veggie burger with chips, kimchi & onion rings Knife & fork, salt & pepper, mayo ketchup and malt vinegar Our own recipe containing beans grated veg spinach herbs and spices bound with pureed chick peas and panned in Panko breadcrumbs |
| Harwich skate wing with caper butter, chips and salad Knife & fork, salt & pepper, mayo ketchup and malt vinegar Skate a variety of ray no bones but you must scrape the flesh off the wings. Grilled with caper butter. |
| Alma sausages with mash, greens, yorkie and gravy Knife & fork, salt & pepper mustard selection Our sausages won the inaugural Harwich sausage festival & were finalists in the British meat trade gazette champion of champions. |
| Farmer Stock’s ham, egg and chips Knife & fork, salt & pepper, mayo ketchup and malt vinegar Named after Gerald who brings us the lovely ham, this is a simply dish that folks don’t seam to get tiered of. |
| Damn fine pie Knife & fork, salt & pepper mustard selection Served with mash, veg and gravy. A proper pie not a casserole with a lid. Changes on a regular basis so be sure to check the board for todays flavour. |
| Harwich Crab dressed OR undressed served with bread and butter, Salad & Chips K&F S&P Crackers & Pickers bowl for shells Vinegar Ketchup mayo Bring finger bowl if asked |
Dover sole / Dab / Flounder
These are all Harwich caught fish Dover sole is the most expensive and is served as a trio of three small (the Dutch would call these slip tongue) medium 100 200g large 201g 300g and super sole 300g and above. Dab are usually v small and v sweet Flounder are bigger with darker skin and very tasty.
They are all cooked mernier (millers style) tossed in seasoned flour and butter then grilled or fried. Served with ships or salad or new potatoes and veg.
Paella
Paella is the name of the dish its cooked in like a stew gets cooked in a stew pot and a casserole in a casserole. Paella does not have to contain seafood it doesn’t even have to contain rice. Ours has cooking chorizo boneless chicken thighs artichokes piquillo peppers onion garlic parsley chicken stock flavoured with saffron and rice. We cook it every Sunday at 12 in the garden its at is best on Wednesday. If its cooked correctly its mildly burnt and contains a certain amount of soccerat (Spanish for skin), burnt bits.