Huddersfield is blessed with some glorious countryside with brilliant walks all over the place.
But one of the best has to be a stroll along Huddersfield Narrow Canal from Marsden to Slaithwaite – or you could even dare to be different and go the other way. The views are superb and you can’t help but admire the engineering that went into constructing the canals and the locks.
Even better – either at Slaithwaite or Marsden – there are some excellent cafes, pubs, restaurants and ice-cream parlours as that ‘pot of gold’ at the end of the walk rainbow.
You see, it’s even got me waxing lyrical, nay poetic almost.
A while back we did the walk, finished in Slaithwaite and went into The Little Bridge cafe wine bar for lunch. Peckish, but not ravenous, we were ordering a sandwich when a waitress walked past with a salad. It was a biggie and looked so enticing we ordered one to share. It was Greenland Prawns with Marie Rose Sauce and the salad (£8.95) including a large bowl of torn leaf with sundried tomatoes, mixed olives, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and red onions.
Even better, it was a sunny (ish) day so we sat on the small balcony which overhangs the River Colne.
It was so good we vowed we’d be back for an evening meal – and that day has now arrived.
When we arrived on a Wednesday evening there was just one table left – the one we’d booked earlier in the day.
It’s a charming, cosy place at night with candles on every table. Little things like that matter and make all the difference. The walls are exposed stone with burgundy feature walls adding to a natural feeling of warmth and relaxation.
Now this is just our kind of menu – around six starters and six mains but clearly thought has gone into every one and, consequently, every mouthful.
Mrs Hirst and myself don’t go in for lengthy menus. Perhaps it’s an age thing, perhaps it’s because neither of us can remember our reading glasses so perhaps it’s actually a memory thing.
Whatever, here it was more a case of what not to have as everything had its own special appeal.
Ruth went for soup of the day which was minted mushroom. Mint and mushroom? You could almost hear Peter Kay in the background twisting his garlic bread routine into mushroom mode.
But it was a great combination which worked – just a hint of mint to offset the strong flavour of the mushroom.
Mine was smoked salmon and fresh Whitby crab topped with homemade Marie Rose sauce served on a bed of bistro salad and wholemeal bread and butter. Crab for me is the taste of the sea and it came with plenty of salmon and masses of quality salad.
Other starters include creamy garlic mushrooms and Chorizo sausage or Camembert baked with caramelised onion chutney and smoked paprika served with warm baguettes and salad garnish (this is a share board for two).
Mains were fillet of salmon and king prawns with chilli butter sauce served on a bed of diced baby garlic potatoes with tender stem broccoli and asparagus. And the other was fillet of Gressingham duck breast topped with a Cumberland orange and port sweet sauce served on a bed of garlic roasted potatoes and fresh vegetables.
Again two cracking dishes with the salmon so delicate and the asparagus and broccoli cooked to perfection.
The tender duck came with its own pond of sauce rather than being topped off with sauce, but I can never have too much of a good thing and it was as rich as it sounded. Vegetables again were cooked just right and plenty of them.
Other mains included lamb shank in a rich mint gravy or fillet of chicken breast baked with red pesto topped with sun blush tomatoes and mozzarella.
The vegetarian dish of the evening was brie cranberry, hazelnut and spinach wellington topped with a Provençal sauce on a bed of fresh spinach served with jacket potato and a mixed side salad or fresh vegetables.
And for dessert it just had to be Eton Mess with cream, ice-cream, mixed fruits and broken meringue. Alternatives included caramel apple pie, Baileys cheesecake or traditional banana split.
The amazing thing about The Little Bridge is its little kitchen. It’s tiny and for the team to create and serve such great dishes is little short of miraculous.
Two courses are £15.95 and desserts are £4.95. A bottle of Rose wine was £15.85.
The menu is changed every week.
