Shropshire Magazine

Main course: Three flavours of Wenlock pork with apple sauce and crispy crackling.

Neil Thomas parks himself at Restaurant Severn in Ironbridge and enjoys some accomplished cooking that’s great value. Pictures: Mike Hayward

They certainly look out for their customers’ welfare at Restaurant Severn in Ironbridge – even before they’ve met them. Proprietors Eric and Beb Bruce are well aware they are in one of Shropshire’s busiest tourist areas and don’t want you to experience any problems parking.

The restaurant’s website, therefore, guides you around the town’s parking opportunities in some detail. They point out that there are five local authority pay-and-display car parks. Single yellow lines are suspended after 6pm or 7pm, so there is normally no problem with parking in the evenings.

They advise that there is parking for four cars outside the restaurant. Opposite, in the bus stop, there is additional parking for eight cars after 7pm. The Square car park accommodates 16 cars with two disabled spaces.

“However, this car park does become quite busy,” the site warns. “Our advice would be to continue up the High Street, past Restaurant Severn on your right, until you get to the mini roundabout, take the third exit off onto Waterloo Street, continue approximately 50 metres and on your left there is another car park (free after 5pm) for 25 cars.

“If still no joy continue up the street and eventually you will cross the river by another big bridge, continue until you reach a very sharp left hand bend, at that bend turn right (you should see the signs for the car park) continue for a short while to the Station Yard/The Bridge car park which has parking for 108 cars. This car park is free in the evenings. Once parked, it is a two minute walk over the iron bridge taking in the scenery on the way to the restaurant.”

Restaurant Severn, Ironbridge.

Fantastic – a kind of online satnav that defies you not to find a space. Full marks to whoever went out and counted the spaces (I wonder if they missed one somewhere?) and compiled this car park tour de force. Frustratingly, it was a quiet Friday evening in downtown Ironbridge and we parked slap bang outside the restaurant, thus depriving ourselves of putting Eric and Beb’s tour fully to the test.

We were, however, able to roadtest the restaurant and it passed with flying colours. Restaurant Severn is something of a hidden gem in that you wander down a rather unpromising alleyway to an unprepossessing side entrance to get in. If, at this point, you feel tempted to walk on by, don’t. You’ll be missing a treat.

If his website is anything to go by, cockney Eric’s cooking credentials are beyond question. He joined Trust House Hotels as an apprentice chef at the age of 14 and was with the group for 12 years, culminating with four years at the Café Royal in Regent Street, where he was responsible for the Michelin-starred Royal Grill.

Also in London he was executive chef at the Kensington Palace Hotel and the Tower Thistle hotel, before spending seven years at the Royal Bath, Bournemouth. He then transferred to the De Vere Belfry Golf complex at Sutton Coldfield, where he spent nine years in charge of the kitchens, catering for numerous celebrities and golf tournaments including The Ryder Cup.

Beb worked with Eric at The Belfry, where she was head pastry chef, responsible for the desserts in five public restaurants and 21 function suites. She studied advanced pastry at Birmingham College of Food before becoming senior pastry lecturer at Rugby and Henley colleges of food.

Restaurant Severn is the Bruces’ second venture in Shropshire, after the Navigation Inn and Warehouse restaurant at Maesbury Marsh, near Oswestry, where they achieved two rosettes for food quality before selling the establishment in 2004.

Restaurant Severn is much more compact – there were 18 diners when we visited and the place was virtually full. In this case, small is beautiful. Two large bay windows onto the High Street give plenty of light, helped by mellow yellow walls. Ceiling beams, a wooden floor and soft leather chairs provide a pleasing mix of comfort and style.

The waiting staff, headed by the Bruces’ daughter, are a delight – friendly, helpful, efficient. You feel they are genuinely pleased to see you.

This is allied to cooking of a high standard. Pre-dinner gin and tonics with olives and lamb-and-coriander balls to nibble were the perfect aperitif.

Starter: Smoked salmon, fresh crab and tiger prawn terrine.

My wild mushroom souffle had an expert’s lightness of touch. The flavour was fresh-from-the-fields strong while crispy leeks added a pleasing contrast. The Madeira sauce was an excellent accompaniment, strong enough to provide a little kick but not overpowering.

My wife Vanessa was delighted with her starter, stunningly presented on a rectangular platter. Three large perfectly cooked King Scallops and snippets of crispy sweet-cured bacon nestled among fresh salad leaves lightly drizzled with a mustard vinaigrette. This was a sublime execution of a very popular dish that is fast becoming a staple on restaurant menus.

Other starters included smooth chicken-liver parfait with Melba toast and red onion jam; smoked salmon, fresh crab and tiger prawn terrine with cucumber and salad leaves; corn-fed chicken and leeks baked in filo pastry with tomato and basil sauce; black pudding with chorizo, mushrooms, bacon and a soft poached egg; and Parisienne of melon, Midori liqueur and summer berry sorbet.

Dessert: Berry summer pudding with Madagascan ice-cream with fresh raspberry ripple.

The Bruces say that, wherever possible, they use local or regional suppliers as well as seasonal organic produce from their own smallholding. Vanessa’s three flavours of Wenlock Pork didn’t travel very far, then. This comprised a thick juicy slice of boned and rolled meat, a tenderloin cut in a pastry case and the crispiest and most flavour-filled crackling she had ever tasted, accompanied by refreshing apple sauce. My roasted chump of Welsh lamb consisted of four generous slices of superbly tender meat, pink and full of flavour, which were expertly complemented by a light rosemary sauce.

Our vegetables – dauphinoise potatoes, boiled potatoes, broccoli, puréed sweet potato and sprouts – were excellently prepared.

Other mains included pan-fried Gressingham duck breast with orange sauce and caramelised apricots; fillets of sole with Champagne sauce, Norfolk samphire and broad beans; milk-fed calves’ liver with mash and sautéed onions; Shropshire venison with red cabbage and a sauce of cognac and sun-dried cranberry; and portobello mushrooms baked with Mediterranean vegetables and goat’s cheese.

My Madagascan vanilla bean crème brulée was light and creamy and the pistachio shortbread delicious.

Vanessa’s summer berry pudding and fresh vanilla ice-cream with a ripple was an excellent version of a traditional favourite with just the right combination of juicy, sweet and tart fruits. A very refreshing finale.

Other desserts included individual raspberry cheesecake on vanilla sponge with raspberry sorbet; cherry and almond tart with crème fraîche and dark Belgian chocolate; and banana torte with coconut ice-cream.

The cafetière of coffee with home-made petits fours rounded the meal off a treat. A bill of £100 for two, even with wine, might sound steep but it’s terrific value.

The wine list is large enough to offer a dilemma of choice. In the end we opted for a Rioja for no other reason than the rather random recommendation that it is enjoyed by Barcelona Football Club. It is not specified whether this refers to all at the club, from the president down to the bootboy, or merely the coach and players. If the latter, is it taken before, during or after matches, or all three? Would they have reached the final of last season’s Champions League without it, instead of going out in the semi-final? Or was it the reason they progressed so far? These, and other pressing questions, went unanswered. However, if it’s good enough for Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry, it’s certainly good enough for me.

• Restaurant Severn, 33 High Street, Ironbridge TF8 7AG.

Telephone: 01952 432233.

Website: www.restaurantseven.co.uk