Eating in a 16th century barn.

On Wednesday evening, hubby’s mom insisted on taking us out for dinner, so off we all went to ‘The Barn at Alfold’, in the next village down the road. This ‘Gastropub’, is one of our favourite places to eat when we are here. It dates back to 1590. and the original oak beams are believed to have been fashioned from timber taken from the ships of the Spanish Armada. Ernest Hemingway frequented this establishment in the 1940’s, during the second world war, and spent many an afternoon enjoying the ‘cream teas’ at ‘Gibbs Hatch’ as it was then called.

As we walked in out of the cold, there was a welcoming fire in the huge fireplace,

so we sat in its cosy warmth, and each had a glass of  my favourite Harvey’s Bristol Cream sherry before dinner.

Some interesting graffiti decorates the walls in the bar.

The food was as always, absolutely delicious. Hubby and MiL opted for the lamb shank in red wine jus, which was really flavourful, and so tender that it just fell off the bone.

My chicken breast with bacon and cheese, was very tasty indeed, and yes, I did eat every last morsel.

This place has a wonderful ambience, and the family who own the restaurant are really friendly and obliging. The owner’s wife does all the cooking herself, using farm fresh vegetables and locally sourced meat. She came out to our table to make sure that we were enjoying her food, and we, with our mouths full, just smiled and nodded. 🙂

It was a most enjoyable evening, and, as you can imagine, we never ran out of conversation for a minute.

Tonight, we’re going to a place called China Brasserie, a highly recommended restaurant close to where my sister-in-law lives. All this eating out is not highly recommended for the waistline, but I’m not complaining. 🙂

I wish you all a very pleasant weekend. We have more family arriving on Saturday, and on Sunday, are having a big family lunch. I have been nominated to make one of my famous cheesecakes for the occasion.