Roast Venison at The Georgian Townhouse

I was in Norwich for a workshop and staying at The Georgian Townhouse on Unthank Road close to the city centre.

I have no idea if I had been to Norwich before, I thought I had, possibly on a school trip, but if I had it was over forty years ago. I really don’t think I have been there. I did live in East Anglia in the 1970s and 1980s but moved to the South West in the early 1990s. I visited lots of places in East Anglia, and in Norfolk. I knew I had been to Hunstanton, Thetford, Dersingham, and Kings Lynn. But I am not sure if I had been to Norwich. If I had then it would have been once.

The Georgian Townhouse is a really nice hotel, part of small chain of boutique hotels with three hotels in Norfolk, one in Mumbles, Wales, and one in London. The rooms are a real nice mix of modern and old. 

I went down to the restaurant, which has all the character of a lovely old pub, and was given a nice warm welcome. I looked over the menu, well I had in fact already checked out the menu when I booked the hotel. 

I decided to have the roast venison loin, with sticky red cabbage, horseradish puree, fondant potato, rosemary jus, spiced seed granola.  It wasn’t too long before the food arrived.

This was a very dark red plate of food, and I think it needed something else to give it a bit more variety of colour on the plate.

I couldn’t find the horseradish puree, and the spiced seed granola had been replaced by some roasted mixed nuts. The fondant potato was okay, not quite what I thought it should be though. The venison was slightly pink, tender, and had a nice flavour. I also enjoyed the sticky red cabbage which had a nice intense flavour, and wasn’t too sweet. It was a nice contrast to the venison. The nuts added some interesting texture to the dish.

I really do think though the dish needed some more vegetables, to add texture and colour. I was reminded writing this, of the venison dish I had at the Hazelwood Castle Hotel near to York.

The venison was lovely and tender, and full of flavour. I enjoyed the vegetables, though I think I would have enjoyed having some more jus with the meal.

I think even some kale or green beans would have made the dish much better at The Georgian Townhouse.

I did enjoy the food, and I am being a little picky, but this wasn’t a cheap meal, and I think some slight changes and additions would have made this a much better dish.