The Marsh Harrier, Ipswich Road, Norwich

Sorry for the absence - it's been a busy few weeks settling back into work and life after a week away!

A week-night catch up with my lovely Dad was in order and we decided to try The Marsh Harrier for some food and a few drinks. The Marsh Harrier is part of The Vintage Inns chain of pubs with venues throughout the UK. It seems to be popular for after-work meals and currently has a week-night set menu - with 2 courses for £11.95, with some tasty looking options on the menu.

The pub itself definitely has a 'vintage' feel, wooden beams and exposed brick with nude coloured walls and cream touches. A mismatched feel, with a variety of table shapes and sizes makes it feel less like a chain.

With 3 choices of starter, I copied by Dad and we went for the Potted Oak Smoked Chicken Liver Pate, which came with an onion marmalade and crusty bread. I was slightly concerned that this would come out like regular mass produced pate, slippery and no texture. However, I was gladly mistaken. The pate was delicious; slightly smokey with a coarse texture. My only minor complaint would be that the bread portion was a bit stingy. This is often the case when you order pate - you get oodles of delicious pate, but not enough bread to spread it on. This either causes you to be left with a large amount of pate or that you have so much piled on your bread that it is a struggle to eat! (I definitely fall into the second category!)

The branded paper was a nice touch to the plate.

Potted Oak Smoked Chicken Liver Pate, part of £11.95 2 course deal

The other options for Starter were Prawn Cocktail (always a classic!) or Baked Cornish Brie and Onion Marmalade Brulee (I was seriously tempted!)

There were some seriously great classic choices for main; steaks (rump and gammon), battered fish, fishcakes, burgers (beef and Feta and Broad Bean) and chicken.

I tried my hardest to go for something different - the Feta and Broad Bean Burger was seriously tempting, as it seemed such a unusual menu option, but I faltered when I read the description for the British Beef Burger, which came with cheddar and bacon... I'm sorry, I tried to blog about something different, but my love of a beef burger won on this occasion...!

British Beef Burger, £11.95 as part of two course deal

 I was not dissappointed. Although this looks fairly small in the photo, the burger patty was big and meaty, with slightly crispy bacon and melted cheese on top. I was asked if I wanted to upgrade by regular chips to 'thick cut chips' and declined. When my meal came out these were already some seriously thick chips and I was intrigued to see what any 'thick' chips would come out like! A little pot of tomato salsa accompanied.

Daddy NF was tempted by the burger, but went for the Gammon Steak. this came with a big wedge of pineapple, a lovely fried egg with a runny yolk, lots of chips and some slightly wrinkled peas. Daddy NF was very jealous of my meal when it came out, as the gammon steak was slightly on the small side (you can barely see it under the egg and pineapple in the photo). Luckily for him, the burger defeated me, so he got lots of my my chips.

A nice touch was that after bringing out our food, the waiter brought out a wooden tray full of pots of sauces and we were able to help ourselves from the varied selection.

Grilled Gammon Steak, £11.95 as part of the 2 course deal

Full of burger and wine, I'm not really sure how I was tempted into a dessert, but at only £2.00 when purchased as part of the deal, it seemed like a great idea!

I figured the Raspberry Creme Brûlée would be a light option and definitely not a regular choice for me (I was trying to make up for the burger!). This was really tasty and definitely a lighter choice of dessert. Cracking through the crisp caramelised sugar topping to a rich thick vanilla custard. I wondered where the raspberry section of the brûlée was, until I reached the bottom of the pot, where there was a layer of fresh raspberries. A really tasty light dessert.

Raspberry Creme Brûlée, £2.00 when purchased on top of the 2 course deal

Daddy NF made me jealous and opted for one of my winter favourites; crumble. This was a seasonal fruit crumble and looked very tasty - coming with ice cream AND custard (a winning combination in my opinion!) I believe the crumble had raspberries in it, but I've completely forgotten what else! The branded paper was brought out again (the Chef was also definitely a fan of a herb garnish!). 

Seasonal Fruit Crumble,  £2.00 when purchased on top of the 2 course deal

Feeling extremely full, we moved to the other side of the pub for a drink. This side has a relaxed vibe - with cutlery in pots, a large fireplace and a whole wall of shabby chic style mirrors - great for a relaxed Sunday meal.

The Marsh Harrier also has an extensive regular menu for lunch and dinner (including a light bites section), a Sunday menu and a Wednesday 'Pie Day' menu. We actually dined on a Wednesday and asked to see the pie menu. However, most of the options differed from the menu or were not available at all. I'm not sure if this was a one off thing or part of some larger misprinting for the menu.

Although The Marsh Harrier does have a slight chain pub feel through the classic pub options, the food is good and there are definitely some unusual options to sample fromt he menu (Creme Brûlée, Feta & Broad Bean Burger, Salt Beef Hash, Wild Boar and Chorizo Burger). The 2 course menu has some great options for the price too.

A great venue for a casual meal and I imagine on a cold day, this would be a great option for a Sunday roast next to the fire. It always seems busy (even at 6.30 on a Wednesday evening, a lot of the tables were filled).

Food - 8/10
Service - 8/10
Atmosphere - 7.5/10
Value for Money - 9/10 (based on the two course menu, although Daddy NF treated me...!)