A lobster festival, in Cowcliffe? Has the sun got to your marbles, Sutcliffe, a colleague exclaimed last Friday.
Telling him it was The Shepherds Arms failed to pacify him. “Tha’ll be lucky to get a packet of Prawn Cocktail crisps there, lad,” was his parting shot.
Fortunately my knowledge was rather more recent than his, though I can understand the town’s diners being similarly perplexed – Cowcliffe and fine dining are some way from being synonyms.
There’s not a lot in this village full stop but fortunately Karl Rowley, a chef for nearly 40 years, and his brother Michael took a deep breath and have breathed fresh life into this traditional pub during the last seven months which is now being described as that old cliche: “a hidden gem.”
It is always a somewhat uncanny feeling to be dining in a restaurant without any other diners and this was a Friday night but I had seen what Karl was trying to do for several months and doubted we would be disappointed.
As our chauffeur took a wrong turn at the last minute we were 10 minutes late and so didn’t have too much time to dwell on the three real ales including Timothy Taylor’s Golden Best.
Sooze, a rising star of the fashion/PR world, had had her hair done specially for the night and we were all under strict instruction not to take the mick.
Unfortunately, there was no mirror in the rather scruffy ladies she said so she spent some time fretting over her appearance and whether she might end up with a piece of spinach or worse between her teeth...
The Shepherds has a large array of dishes to choose from but for once the five of us found it easy to choose.
Sooze plumped for Black pudding with bacon and balsamic. Her verdict: “Lovely mild black pud. Sweet and smooth balsamic, not too vinagary. Dish was slightly lacking in flavour, pancetta instead of bacon would have provided a better contrast – too smooth and unassuming. Croutons were a little greasy and tasteless. Maybe a flavoured oil and some herbs would have brought them to life. Nice crunch though.”
‘Nice’ Nigel, a former sales director, had a melange of chicken pieces with a little salad and garlic mayonnaise which he enjoyed.
June might mean the onset of Murray-mania and strawberries and cream at Wimbledon but for me it has always meant the start of the lobster season.
I prefer it cooked simply with just mayonnaise and a few new potatoes but you can have it Goan-style or Thermidor. I enjoyed it but skipped the salad and dipped the chips someone had ordered into the little tub of mayonnaise. Bliss! My brother-in-law Mindir was a late recruit and both he and Sooze went for the Thermidor.
She said: “It was well cooked, the lobster being just the right texture and the rich creamy sauce being well flavoured. “My chips were average. The veg – cauli, carrot batons and green beans – was steamed/boiled just right and thankfully not slathered in butter or oil so perfect for mopping up the sauce.
“The new potatoes must have been a good variety and fresh as they actually had some flavour, unlike many others.”
My photographic friend Lorne had a delicious pie so large that I was afraid it wouldn’t fit in his dish while Nigel had pan-fried beef fillet with a creamy mushroom and stilton sauce which he said was “unimproveable”. Wow!
But Sooze was less forgiving of other aspects saying: “I wish we hadn’t been the only ones dining as there was a lack of atmosphere. Decor in restaurant was very bland and uninspiring, could do with an injection of personality.
“Bill came to a little over £30 each which I think is good value for 2/3 courses, drinks and expensive ingredients like lobster and black pud. Our waitress was lovely – helpful and smiley. Food came to table in good time without any long waits.”
I finished with a perfect liqueuer coffee and Sooze and Nigel enjoyed their desserts – a lemon meringue pie and jam sponge and custard.
And Sooze finished the evening with not a hair out of place. Phew!
The Shepherds Arms
186 Cowcliffe Hill Road, Huddersfield, HD2 2NB
Tel: 01484 426525
Website: None I could find
Opening hours: Open for drinks from noon to around midnight seven days a week.
Eating wise: Monday-Friday noon-2pm. Monday/Tuesday 5pm-8pm. Wednesday/Thursday 5pm-8.30pm. Friday: 5pm-9pm. Saturday: Noon-9pm. Sunday: Noon-6pm.
Children: Welcome
Disabled access: Yes
The bill: £150 pounds inc wine for five adults.
Would you go back? Yes
