The Clive is a restaurant and hotel in Bromfield, just outside of Ludlow. Making use of the produce from the nearby Ludlow Food Centre, it has an interesting and varied menu. Probably a good idea to book in advance though, the restaurant filled quickly, particularly with people staying at the hotel. The main dining room was modern in décor, with well-spaced tables to suit all party sizes, and some impressive artwork on the walls. The room itself perhaps needed a little more natural light, it felt a little on the dark side.
Skipping a starter, we went straight for the main courses, a decent array of different dishes from duck breast to beef, sea bass to cannelloni. I went for the rolled confit of Gloucester Old Spot Pork, with dauphinoise potatoes and black pudding in a jus, with black cabbage salsa. Great rich flavours; a little fatty perhaps, but that is the nature of the dish. The spicy black cabbage salsa cut through the fattiness perfectly, but I couldn't have eaten too much of it, very spicy! My wife had the Bromfield rump of lamb with minted peas and broad beans, with a celeriac and potato gratin; again rich, bold and flavoursome, a good hearty meal. We also shared a portion of seasonal vegetables, which accompanied both dishes nicely.
After such rich flavours, I chose a dessert with contrasting flavours, chocolate and salted caramel served in a glass, a match made in heaven! But only when I'd used a teaspoon to chisel through the inch depth of solid chocolate to get to the caramel, a very strange way to serve such a dessert. Wonderful flavours yes, but many times the glass nearly ended up on the floor, as I tried to get through the chocolate! A post meal flavoursome coffee rounded off the meal nicely, as was the voucher we were given to encourage us to return. The staff were knowledgeable, and unobtrusive, but looked a little flustered as the restaurant filled. read more