I was staying over in Suffolk, I had arrived late to my hotel, so rather than try and find somewhere I defaulted to the local pub next to the hotel, The Beagle.
The Beagle dates back to the 18th century when Sproughton was a small hamlet, most of the few inhabitants making their living from the land. Although for most of its long history the building was divided into a number of farm cottages, rumour has it that may have actually started life as an inn.
The Beagle is part of the Vintage Inns chain. On my arrival I was given a nice warm welcome. Though I was given the main menu, I had seen they have a Weekend Treat Menu. I asked for that menu which I had seen online. This menu does change it would appear as well.
For my starter I went with the Fritto Misto, this was crispy calamari, sea bass & king prawns, served with saffron aioli.
I love the concept of Fritto Misto, it has to be said though I am often disappointed with the execution. I have to say I didn’t have high expectations about the dish. The plate arrived and to be honest even with my low expectations I was disappointed. There was an aioli, but if there was any saffron in there, then it was well hidden. The portion looked very small as well. It was quite tasty, but even so that didn’t compensate for the meagreness of the food.
For my main course I went with the pork belly and scallops. This was described as slow-cooked pork belly served with pan-seared scallops, Tenderstem broccoli and dauphinoise potato. My plate arrived without scallops, but with prawns instead.
Now I understand the concept of surf and turf, and I have had steak and prawns before. However the dish was about serving pork with scallops, and these two ingredients do usually go together.
I ate the prawns first and they did not work with the dish, especially with the sauce.
Now the pork belly itself was nice and tender as slow cooked pork belly usually is. I do like pork belly, but though this was nice, I find it better when I cook it myself, and it has a little more texture and bite. My favourite is the pork belly joint from M&S. I also enjoyed the Tenderstem broccoli and dauphinoise potato. It was just a pity that they put prawns on the plate instead of scallops. Did mention it to the waiting staff, so they cooked some scallops separately for me. Those scallops were actually very good, and would have gone well with the pork.
I didn’t have pudding.
Overall it was a nice meal, but had the potential to be so much better, for a very little effort.
