{"id":397,"date":"2019-05-17T13:46:24","date_gmt":"2019-05-17T13:46:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland\/?p=397"},"modified":"2019-05-17T13:46:30","modified_gmt":"2019-05-17T13:46:30","slug":"dining-out-the-admiral-hornblower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/food-and-drink\/dining-out-the-admiral-hornblower\/05-2019","title":{"rendered":"Dining Out: The Admiral Hornblower…"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Small Dishes at Oakham’s Admiral Hornblower restaurant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dining is shipshape and Bristol fashion at one of Oakham\u2019s most recommendable and renowned quality pub restaurants. The busy, bustling Admiral Hornblower in Oakham is sublime. Just keep the present Mrs Davis away from its generous promotions…<\/h3>\n

Some people just won\u2019t be told. I did point out the ill-advised nature of a bottomless Prosecco promotion with the present Mrs Davis lurking ominously behind every Champagne flute, but Charlotte Crawford and the ever-generous team at Oakham\u2019s Admiral Hornblower just didn\u2019t listen.<\/p>\n

Our visit caught the tail end of one of the pub restaurant\u2019s bottomless Prosecco glass deals, offered on occasions throughout the summer, which my dear wife regarded less as a promotion and rather more of a challenge.<\/p>\n

Whilst a cold shiver runs down the spine of a thousand Trieste winemakers at the thought of la donna del diavolo del vino inglese<\/em>ravaging their labours, it\u2019s characteristically benevolent of the Crawford family and warms the hearts of their diners.<\/p>\n

Heeding the bottom line for their pub restaurants is just a means of allowing them to continue their fine work in the hospitality trade, knowing that prioritising their customers\u2019 satisfaction and satiation (counting smiles, not pennies) is the secret to running a great pub or restaurant.<\/p>\n

The family came into the hospitality industry rather by accident and with no previous \u00a0experience, took on their first pub in 1987 having experienced the trade only as customers, not as publicans or restauranteurs.<\/p>\n

Colin &\u2008Celia Crawford purchased the Peacock pub in Redmile near Melton back in the late 1980s. They did so to convert it into private accommodation, but fancying themselves as evanescent publicans, the couple though they\u2019d have a giggle and run the place for one last night before its permanent closure. Little did they realise that evening would be a tremendous runaway success and would take them in a rather different direction, accidentally falling in love with hospitality and keeping the place to run as a pub.<\/p>\n

This has given them a diner and drinker-led perspective on the industry. Because they look after their customers – like with their Prosecco promotion – customers return time and again. So, the profitability of Oakham\u2019s Admiral Hornblower (which celebrates its third anniversary as Pride goes to press) and its sister pub restaurant, Hambleton\u2019s Finches Arms (which the family has owned since 1997) are a\u00a0 fait accompli; their success is a natural consequence.<\/p>\n

The restaurant is offering a new way to dine for late spring and summer; \u2018Small Plates.\u2019\u00a0It\u2019s a sort of anniversary gift to the diners of Rutland, we suppose.\u00a0The Admiral Hornblower\u2019s Small Plates will be added to the set menu (\u00a315.95\/two courses; \u00a319.95\/three courses) and \u00e0 la carte menu. They\u2019re designed to be an \u2018easy dining\u2019 option that can be enjoyed as grazing snacks when you\u2019re sipping a glass of wine, or taken as a \u2018mix and match\u2019 starter option. Larger than tapas; smaller than snacks, the philosophy is large amounts of flavour and even larger amounts of satisfaction.<\/p>\n

As with all of the restaurant\u2019s other dishes, the Small Plates options can be enjoyed anywhere in the Grade II listed stone pub; the restaurant; \u2018kitchen table room;\u2019 the library – which is also available for private dining for up to 20 people; in the study, another potential private dining room for up to 12 people, or in the bar area.<\/p>\n

In the summer, there\u2019s a large courtyard garden showing live sports: Wimbledon and golf tournaments – occasionally football too – so expect a few tennis hooligans and golf ruffians, but don\u2019t worry; it\u2019s still a civilised atmosphere – and the pub also hosts the odd gourmet barbecue in the summer.<\/p>\n

Inside, there\u2019s an \u00e0 la carte menu for lunchtime and evening service, a set lunch menu and a set evening menu, plus brunch options a dedicated menu for Sunday lunch.<\/p>\n

Desserts, bread, ice creams and sorbets and the biscotti served with morning coffee is all home made and the coffee culture is assured by quality freshly ground fairtrade coffee and homemade cakes.<\/p>\n

Charlotte describes The Admiral Hornblower as the \u2018fun little sister\u2019 of Hambleton\u2019s Finches. Whilst the latter has a laid-back reservoir-side location and peaceful terraces, the former has a bit more \u2018busy and bustle\u2019 by virtue of its in-town location.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not to say it doesn\u2019t deliver when it comes to quality dining. Our lamb dish was perfectly executed, whilst the Small Plates were little flavour bombs; breaded ham hock with homemade piccalilli? Oh yes, sir! Meanwhile our panna cotta, whilst squidgy and loaded with fine vanilla flavour will also be served with Manton strawberries as Pride goes to press.<\/p>\n

The Crawford family\u2019s entry into the pub restaurant trade came just prior to the gastropub revolution. At that time, the family just wanted to make their customers happy and go the extra mile for them, especially in the respect of providing better food than most other pubs were doing at back then.<\/p>\n

Without realising it, they pre-empted the revolution in quality pub restaurant food, and gained a well-deserved foothold in the local pub restaurant scene with a philosophy of just looking after diners and doing a good job, producing interesting, well-executed food. Three years on from opening The Admiral Hornblower, the place is one of the best pub restaurants in the area. It\u2019s easily one of the most recommendable places for satisfying summer dining in the heart of Oakham.<\/p>\n

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Dessert is served; strawberry panna cotta at Oakham’s Admiral Hornblower restaurant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the Menu\u2026<\/h3>\n

Small Plates<\/h4>\n

Small Plates Battered squid rings with chilli salad.<\/p>\n

Thai Duck Salad with Asian Slaw & Coriander Dressing.<\/p>\n

Breaded ham hock parcels with homemade piccalilli.<\/p>\n

3 dishes for \u00a315<\/p>\n

Starters<\/h4>\n

Roast chicken, sun-dried tomato & basil terrine, tomato chutney focaccia \u00a37.00.<\/p>\n

Crispy king prawns, cucumber, coriander & peanut salad, sweet chilli dressing \u00a37.95.<\/p>\n

Main Courses<\/h4>\n

8oz rump of lamb, new potato terrine, green beans, celeriac remoulade, lamb sauce \u00a318.50.<\/p>\n

Potato Gnocchi with Courgettes, Tomato & Basil, Gremolata Dressing (V) \u00a313.95.<\/p>\n

Desserts<\/h4>\n

Strawberry panna cotta with crushed meringue \u00a36.50.<\/p>\n

Chocolate brownie with white chocolate ice cream \u00a36.50.<\/p>\n

NB: Featured dishes are subject to change.<\/p>\n

Opening Times:<\/h4>\n

Lunchtime Service Monday – Saturday 12 noon – 2.30pm.<\/p>\n

Evening Service Monday – Saturday 18.30pm – 9:30pm.<\/p>\n

Sunday Lunch 12 noon – 8pm.<\/p>\n

The Admiral Hornblower is based on High Street, Oakham LE15 6AS. Call 01572 723004 or see www.hornblowerhotel.co.uk.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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The comfortable dining room of Oakham’s Admiral Hornblower.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dining is shipshape and Bristol fashion at one of Oakham\u2019s most recommendable and renowned quality pub restaurants. The busy, bustling…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":401,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[92,95,41,80,93,70,94,25],"class_list":["post-397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-and-drink","tag-admiral","tag-finches","tag-food","tag-hambleton","tag-horn-blower","tag-local","tag-oakham","tag-restaurant"],"acf":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":403,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397\/revisions\/403"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}