Restaurant Review: The Crown and Anchor, Walford Bridge, Wimborne (From Bournemouth Echo)

Restaurant Review: The Crown and Anchor, Walford Bridge, Wimborne

12:10pm Friday 27th August 2010 in

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After an unreasonably early start to my Sunday morning, car-booting at Parley, I wasn’t feeling much like rustling up a big roast for lunch.

However, my mother-in-law was staying with us, and I felt I owed her a decent lunch after dragging her out into a cold, windy field before breakfast.

Our nearest pub, The Crown & Anchor, seemed our best bet, though as I’d never eaten there before I didn’t know quite what to expect.

What a pleasant surprise, then, to be offered a full menu with traditional as well as more adventurous choices.

Even more pleasant was the choice of seating – either in the cosy bar or lounge area, with its wood-panelled walls and traditional pub feel, or outside, down by the river, close to the Walford Bridge.

As the sun was shining we chose the latter, and happily watched the ducks and fish swimming past as we waited for our order.

We skipped the starters, which included tempting items such as goat’s cheese and beetroot salad, Dorset pate with Dorset ale chutney, or sweet-chilli flavoured chicken strips, and went straight for the main course.

Being vegetarian, I chose the asparagus and cheese tart while my mother-in-law went for the scampi. Both came with chips and salad.

Meanwhile my carnivorous husband was delighted to see that the mixed grill included a generous rump steak as well as a gammon steak, a pork loin chop, sausage and a lamb chop – sheer heaven for someone who rarely sees red meat at home!

The slight wait for the food reassured us that everything was being freshly prepared, and this was confirmed when it arrived.

The chips were hand-cut and beautifully light and crisp – the best my mother-in-law had ever tasted, she said. And that was after having just returned from a luxury cruise and a visit to some of the top restaurants in Europe!

My asparagus tart was perfect – |beautifully cooked, with delicious, light pastry and a lovely crisp salad to accompany it.

Mum was equally impressed with her generous portion of scampi, which was moist inside and crisp on the outside, and came with a good-sized pot of home-made tartare sauce.

The mixed grill was also a triumph, cooked to perfection and accompanied by chips, peas, salad, onion rings and corn on the cob. A real man-sized meal.

My husband also enjoyed his draught HB lager, though if he’d been a real-ale lover there was plenty to choose from for the connoisseur, including the locally brewed Tanglefoot.

Had we had room, we could have chosen from a lovely selection of desserts, from Eton Mess, to Hot Chocolate Fudge Cake or New Forest ice cream, but sadly the main courses had defeated us.

Most surprising of all, the bill for the three of us, including two Cokes and a pint of lager, came to only £28.29.

Great food, great value, attractive setting and cheerful, friendly service. What more could you ask for?