Brixham fish in the heart of the Cotswolds - the Inn For All Seasons

We’ve been driving along the A40 between Cheltenham and Oxford for many years. It’s a winding road which can be annoyingly slow if you get behind a lorry, but it does pass through some glorious countryside and past quite a few roadside inns. Some of these are clearly struggling for custom, but this can’t be said of the Inn For All Seasons, just before Burford at Barrington. The car park often seems fullish and there’s a sign outside promising FRESH FISH (in big letters). Is this the secret of their success?

The fish is delivered from Brixham in Devon, and does indeed seem to be fresh. It’s also varied and well-prepared. There’s a cosy bar (for this is very much still a pub where one can drop in for a pint) as well as a restaurant alongside, and the atmosphere is very much English countryside – local farmers alongside Cotswold society and visiting tourists. The menu has a good choice of meat and poultry – but our attention was riveted on the fish specials board in the bar. And what an excellent choice it offers: gilt-fin black bream (with stir-fry of fennel and lime butter sauce), roast loin steak of monkfish (on Paris mushroom with chorizo sauce), or fillet of Bibury trout (and lightly curried brown shrimp butter).

We started off with half a dozen oysters from County Louth, small yet very plump and a great start. Starters of Scallops with bacon and salad and Dart salmon nicoise (a generous piece of salmon atop new potatoes, French beans, anchovies and hard boiled egg – fantastic!) set us up nicely for the main event. I must admit I was hoping to see Dover sole on the menu, but the grilled plaice, large and meaty with butter, parsley and lemon more than made up for it. Jenny had a Thai fish curry with rice, mixed fish in a chunky and very spicy sauce. We were both very well pleased.

The wine list is not long but well-chosen and offers a good range, including a nice house Champagne at £27.50 which proved excellent value. There was no room whatsoever for dessert, but a pot of coffee nicely rounded off our evening. I noticed an excellent selection of rare malt whiskies behind the bar. The Inn For All Seasons is a beacon of great fish in the Cotwold countryside – drop in next time you’re passing, or even better stay for a couple of nights and enjoy the surrounding valleys and walks. More at http://www.innforallseasons.co.uk/.

The world's crispiest batter? The Old Passage at Arlingham

One of our favourite local seafood restaurants is the Old Passage at Arlingham, a few miles south of Gloucester. Set in wonderful surroundings on the banks of the Severn, the restaurant is housed in the former ferry-house where for hundred of years people set out to cross the wide river. On a nice evening, a walk along the riverbank is an ideal prelude to some serious shellfish.

Sadly, the weather let us down. Arriving early, we had plenty of time to sip a drink and peruse the menu. The establishment has changed hands in the past year, and is now run by Sally Pearce and her son David. However, the welcome and feel of the place is very much the same as ever, and I was delighted to find that they now sell Cotswold Lager on draft, an ideal prelude to some oysters.

The menu offers the bet selection of seafood and shellfish for many miles around. We started with a plate of Fowey No 2 oysters from Cornwall (nice, cold and not too large, just as I prefer them – there is a choice of Bigbury and Fin de Claire oysters too). Choosing a starter was much more of a problem – scallops thermidor, Scottish langoustine, a mini-fruits-de-mer plate…? However, you just can’t beat proper dark French-style fish soup with gruyere cheese and croutons, so that’s what I had. As an alternative, the pan-fried foie gras with scallops and poached rhubarb was richly delicious.

Choice of main courses presented another difficulty. A lobster from the tank? Not today – we tried a range of fish including line caught sea bream from Cornwall served (deliciously) with cockle, clam and samphire risotto, and fish stew (clearly a cousin of the soup I’d had earlier, and none the worse for that). I personally went with the beer battered fish and chips, served with proper marrow-fat peas. The fish was wonderful – the batter was the crispiest I have ever experienced with extra crispy parts having (I think) been drizzled on during the cooking in tempura style. It was still crisp at the last mouthful. Inside, the fish was moist and perfectly cooked. The business.

The Old Passage has been with us for some 7 years now, and continues to hold its place as the top seafood destination in the area. The place also has rooms, so you could consider staying over. Long may it continue. More details at http://www.fishattheoldpassageinn.co.uk/.

New Cheltenham food pub - The Reservoir

Looking for a Sunday lunch, Jenny and I found ourselves on our way to the Reservoir. Not the place which supplies our town of Cheltenham with its drinking water, but the pub opposite, on the A40 just east of the town boundary near the village of Dowdeswell. We've driven past this place dozens of times and always looked uninspiring. However, we had read that the place was under new management and that our favourite chef of all time Martin Blunos was involved. So, we had to check it out.

The Reservoir is run by Andy and Susan Proctor, who have a wealth of experience between them. Andy had worked with Martin Blunos at the sadly missed Lettonie restaurant in Bath while Susan had experience alongside Heston Blumenthal at the legendary Fat Duck in Bray. The two had subsequently been landlord(s) at Heston's pub The Hinds Head. They seek to offer " a celebration of British food, cooked with fresh, seasonal and locally sourced ingredients". Nothing wrong with that then. Blunos has a stake in the place and is helping with menu creation and has even been seen cooking on the premises since the pub opened its doors again at beginning of April.

The decor is really excellent, nicely light with Farrow&Ball type greens to the fore. We ate some fishy starters (a splendidly creamy and peppery smoked mackerel pate) and mains (smoked haddock fish cakes - 4 of them, so the plural is definitely justified) along with other tasty food including terrine of ham hock and roast beef with excellent Yorkshire pudding and creamy home-made horseradish sauce. For afters we tried the wonderful (Heston-ish?) mixture of double and single Gloucester cheese, fruitcake and pickled shallots - a winning combination!

So, this is not just a seafood post, more of a celebration of a great addition to the eating possibilities in Gloucestershire. Go along and try it. Find out more at http://www.thereservoirinn.co.uk/.