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Pastoral Symphony
from:
Lifestyle/FOOD & DRINK
City Life Magazine, Manchester
7-13 April 2005
CragRats is not quite what you’d expect to find after travelling over the rolling hills to Holmfirth.
Visit in the day and, given this is Last Of The Summer Wine territory, you might anticipate a twee tea and scone café full of blue rinses and easily amused tourists. Go after dark – no road lights, buildings or people around – and you’d more expect to find a scary American Werewolf style local hostelry.
In fact, CragRats is a contemporary bar and restaurant worthy of any major city which, nonetheless, entirely suits its remote location.
The restaurant was set up by Holmfirth’s CragRats theatre company as somewhere to entertain clients and actors. Taking over a stone-built pub, they renovated it – not, you’ll be glad to hear, with papier-mâché Hamlets of big velvet curtains but in a strikingly contemporary, convivial style.
On entering the brassiere, the effect is immediately relaxing – a décor of creamy bricks and dark wood surrounds the comfy, chunky seats and sofas. Warm colours plus lots of windows means the large space is both snug and bright, dotted with funky ethnic art and ornaments, unobtrusive jazz tunes playing in the background.
But if the theatrical background of the venue isn’t overly reflected in the décor, this creative element comes across in the crafting and presentation of the dishes.
To start, we opted for the Beer battered Camembert, presented on a base of homemade piccalilli (£4.95). The cheese was enjoyably gooey but the cold, moist piccalilli, though pleasant in itself, didn’t quite work as an accompaniment. Not so with the Homemade char sui pork and honey spring roll (£5.50), which came atop sweet chilli noodles and with an apple and ginger dipping sauce – very effective in drawing out the flavours of the crisp and succulent roll.
On to the mains, and the Roasted portobello mushrooms with tallagio and tapenade, basil pesto polenta and tomato sauce (£10.95) was a satisfying veggie option. The mushrooms were meaty, rich and juicy and the myriad of flavours – plus a side of crisp carrots and corn (£1.95) – complemented one another beautifully. The roast breast of Barbury duck, honey and balsamic shallots, braised chicory, chorizo and thyme jus (£13.75) came artistically splayed on the plate, the taste living up to the appearance – a dark and rich dish with a sweet edge.
As well as the quality and presentation of the food, diners will also notice that portions aren’t exactly large. Those with a normal sized appetite would, like us, be replete but well capable of managing a dessert.
So we did. The chocolate and pistachio brownie (£4.95) came with raspberry sauce and vanilla cream – chewy and thick but with a crispy coating, it was heavenly. The homemade Bakewell tart (£4.75) was accompanied by mascarpone cream and apricot compote, although either one or the other would have been sufficient. CragRats' dedication to creating exciting dishes is great but very occasionally, as in this case, it can threaten to distract attention from the quality of the main feature.
With a pleasingly varied wine list (house wines from £10.50), faultless service and an atmosphere that is serene and stylish, CragRats is the perfect restaurant to seek out as an indulgent treat. And now that spring has sprung, they have even more to offer: on Fridays the outdoor patio area plays host, weather permitting, to a barbeque from 5pm until 6.45pm, so you can enjoy coconut, lime and chilli fish brochettes or hickory and bourbon smoked ribs with plum sauce whilst enjoying the views.
True, CragRats is not exactly on the Mancunian doorstep, but the journey over Holme Valley’s stunning countryside is part of the experience, offering CragRats a stage setting no city centre eaterie can emulate.
Nicola Mostyn
Food 3.5/5
Décor 4.5/5
Service 4/5
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