Shropshire Magazine

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Neil Thomas tucks in at an old favourite — and as usual is left impressed. Pictures: Russell Davies

Have we mentioned that The Shropshire Magazine is celebrating its 60th anniversary this month? I suppose if you had ignored the cover as well as pages 5, 6 and 33–39 inclusive — or the magazine instantly flipped open to this page — you may still be none the wiser.

That first issue in May 1950 was just 50 pages, black and white other than light blue on the cover, and featured on page 33 a full-page advert for The Mytton and Mermaid Hotel at Atcham, near Shrewsbury. There was, on page 32, a short editorial piece about the hotel’s 200-year history and the origins of its name.

Well, since the hotel was good enough to help launch this magazine I’m more than happy to repay the compliment by featuring it in this 60th anniversary issue. It also helps that I know I’ll get an excellent meal there.

History hung heavily in the air on the evening my wife Vanessa and I visited. It was the occasion of the televised leaders’ debate, the first in a General Election campaign. I must confess to feeling slightly uneasy at the idea missing the ground-breaking political spectacle of our would-be premiers going head-to-head (or rather head-to-head-to-head). Yet we were clearly not alone among those for whom the idea of pushing a pea around a plate was a credible alternative to an evening with Brown, Cameron and Clegg. The Mytton and Mermaid was heaving with diners. Watching politicians chew over the fat is clearly no competition for chewing on an expertly cooked steak.

When Vanessa and I visited the Mytton and Mermaid’s sister restaurant, Mad Jack’s, in February last year, it was noticeable how busy it was and how lively an atmosphere this generated. The same could most certainly be said of our visit to The Mytton and Mermaid. This success is certainly merited, for food, drink, service and ambience are of a very high standard. As at Mad Jack’s, there’s a very youthful-looking staff, who bring a bright, friendly efficiency to the party.

Pan-roasted scallops, tomato and cumin vinaigrette, marinated baby carrots.

I started with green pea and coriander soup with crispy crab dumplings, mustard seed and curry leaf aioli, which provided a delightful contrast of flavours and textures. Vanessa is a huge fan of scallops. Here they were pan-roasted with a tomato and cumin vinaigrette and marinated baby carrots, and certainly met my wife’s exacting standards.

Other starters we could have chosen included pan-fried chicken livers on toasted brioche with Wenlock Edge bacon, baby spinach and aged balsamic; corned beef rosti and fried duck’s egg with watercress salad and mustard sauce; smoked chicken, Parma ham and Jerusalem artichoke terrine with confit of tomato, saffron shallots, black olives and aged balsamic; crispy duck spring roll with oriental carrot and spring onion and plum and pineapple dipping sauce; Ragstone goat’s cheese bruschetta with roasted red peppers, thyme crème fraîche tapenade and wild rocket; and new season asparagus with crispy quail’s egg and Parma ham.

Choice

I could easily have chosen three or four from the mouthwatering options on offer and Vanessa felt the same. And we still had the rich choice of main courses to grapple with. Sometimes, dear reader, you just don’t appreciate what a tough job being paid to dine out can be.

Vanessa’s slow-roasted Wenlock Edge belly pork was delightfully tender meat, full of flavour, though the crackling was not quite as crisp as she felt it should have been. As with all the Mytton and Mermaid dishes, its accompaniment was both interesting and imaginative — buttered spring greens, creamed flageolet beans and saffron potatoes with an apple and vanilla purée.

Roasted loin of Shropshire lamb and braised shoulder of lamb shepherd’s pie, spring cabbage, fondant potato, vanilla and carrot puree and mint jus.

My roasted loin of Shropshire lamb with braised shoulder of lamb shepherd’s pie was a masterpiece — expertly cooked to retain full flavour and presented with great flair on the plate. Spring cabbage, fondant potato and vanilla and carrot purée with a mint jus were a perfect adjunct.

Again the choice included many other impressive-sounding dishes — smoked haddock rarebit and black pudding Scotch egg with creamy leek mash, baby spinach and pea and feve sauce vierge; orange spiced whiting and crayfish fishcake with lobster bisque and fine bean salsa; pea, lemon and feve risotto with chargrilled asparagus, balsamic roasted vine tomato, parmesan and hazelnut pesto; local lamb and fennel sausages with celeriac and potato mash, honey carrots and a red wine jus; and chargrilled loin of tuna nicoise with crispy quails egg and anchovy fritters.

Add to that pan-fried Gressingham duck, lobster and crab linguini, chargrilled free-range chicken breast and chargrilled pork and chorizo burger — and all with intricate or clever accompaniments — and you appreciate what a talented kitchen is at work here and why the Mytton and Mermaid restaurant has earned two AA rosettes. Local place names or the word ‘local’ itself features heavily on the menu and the restaurant clearly cares deeply about the provenance of its food, as well as its seasonality.

There is a mouthwatering selection of steaks, all cut from Shropshire beef and served with sauce Béarnaise, roasted plum tomato, field mushrooms and hand-cut chips.

Side dishes such as pomme purée, a panache of vegetables, creamed cabbage, tomato and red onion salad and rocket and parmesan salad are available.

The desserts certainly match the excellence of the first two courses. Vanessa thoroughly enjoyed her rhubarb and vanilla crème brulée with rhubarb and ginger jelly, gingerbread crumb and rhubarb sorbet. My treacle tart with clotted cream ice-cream and candied pecans was delicious.

Again the menu did not make for an easy choice and I could easily have opted for the white chocolate tart with apricot and thyme compote and mango sorbet, or the slow-baked banana with rum, banana jelly, toasted banana bread, pistachio ice-cream, caramelised banana bavarois and star anise caramel.

Then, again, there was the baked duck egg custard tart, green apple sorbet and cinnamon syrup; or the iced coconut and chocolate sandwich with pineapple wafer and mango salsa.

There is nothing obvious or rudimentary about these desserts. Surely one of the reasons we choose to eat out — apart from the fact that it gets us out of the washing up — is to have our palates intrigued and excited by something we either couldn’t — or wouldn’t think to — concoct ourselves. The kitchen at The Mytton and Mermaid provides that culinary magic that separates for so many of us the experience of dining out from eating at home - and all for less than £90 for two, including wine.

Information

If you’ve still room after dessert, or perhaps as an alternative, the selection of local artisan cheeses served with water biscuits, walnut and raisin bread, quince jelly and mustard chutney sounds like it would go well with a glass of vintage port. The menu, helpfully, has plenty of information about the cheeses on offer.

A bottle of Prosecco provided a light and refreshing accompaniment to our meal, chosen from a comprehensive wine list.

Fresh filter coffee for me and a double espresso for Vanessa, served with delicious truffles, were a perfect way to round off our meal.

The setting for all this gastronomic excellence is a stately Grade-II-listed Georgian building on the banks of the River Severn next to the architectural splendour of the bridge at Atcham.

You dine in surroundings that are steeped in history.The hotel dates from the early 18th  century when it was called the Talbot Arms.

The Mytton and Mermaid Hotel.

During the great coaching era the hotel was rebuilt and became an important posting house along the A5 to Holyhead and Ireland. In the 1830s it became the Berwick Arms but railways led to the decline of coaching inns and in the 1860s the hotel became a private house known as Atcham House.

In the 1930s, it was bought by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, the architect famous for creating Portmeirion in North Wales, where the cult 1960s television series The Prisoner was filmed. He turned it into a hotel once again, naming it The Mytton and Mermaid. The ‘Mytton’ comes from ‘Mad’ Jack Mytton whose dare devil exploits were legendary. The Mermaid came from the crest of the Portmerion Hotel, already owned by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis.

In those days there were no mobile phones and it seems entirely in keeping with the surroundings that the menu features a polite request to today’s guests to keep theirs switched off.

• The Mytton and Mermaid Hotel, Atcham, Shropshire SY5 6QG. Tel: 01743 761220. www.myttonandmermaid.co.uk