I love a good Sunday lunch. It’s not just the roast dinner with all the trimmings, but the sitting down with the family, eating and enjoying each other’s company which makes it special. Every few weeks we like to go out for Sunday lunch, for me it’s nice to eat something I’ve not cooked and for the boys, it’s nice for them to dodge washing up duty. With that in mind, we headed off to Barristers Restaurant & Bar at The Courthouse in Knutsford, Cheshire for Sunday lunch and a drive out in the country.
The Courthouse is a Grade II listed property. Previously it was Knutsford Crown Court and was later used by The Ministry of Defence before it closed and lay empty for seven years. Since then the building has been carefully restored and transformed into a contemporary restaurant and bar.
Barristers Restaurant & Bar is beautiful. It’s light and airy and really unusual, but in a good way. They’ve kept all the original layout of the court and worked around that, so you could find yourself sat in the dock enjoying a pre-dinner cocktail.
We ordered from the Sunday Lunch menu. I began my meal as I almost always do, with soup. It was a rich and delicious roasted tomato soup served with a fresh bread roll and very good salty butter. I’m fussy about soup, but this was perfectly seasoned and bursting with fresh, juicy tomato flavour.
My better half went for the Bloomer Shrooms; creamed chestnut mushrooms, roasted in garlic and served on a thick slice of toasted bloomer. It was a very hearty portion of well cooked mushrooms and an excellent start to the meal.
The small boy ordered a milkshake and a kid’s portion of fish and chips. The chips were top notch; crisp on the outside and so fluffy inside. They were the best chips I’ve tried in a long time (I snaffled a few off his plate when he wasn’t looking).
Onto the main course, and as it was Sunday it had to be roasted rump of beef served with roasted potatoes, celeriac puree, a giant Yorkshire pudding, seasonal vegetables, glazed Chantenay carrots, wilted greens and gravy. It was a huge plate of food and my husband doubted he would be equal to the challenge. The Yorkshire pudding was so impressively big you could have worn it as a hat. He said, and I believe him, that it was the best roast dinner he’s had in a very long time.
Being a veggie there’s never a vast selection of dishes to choose from when I eat out. There were a couple of dishes to choose from and I opted for the Courgette Linguini which was tossed in a Regato cheese sauce and spiked with chilli, lemon and coriander. It was a beautiful plate of pasta. I liked the addition of the chilli which cut through the cheesiness of the sauce. It was the perfect pasta dish for the cold, slightly snowy day we were enjoying.
It was busy in The Courthouse, most tables were taken. In any other restaurant I perhaps would have found the hubbub too much, but the layout is such that the tables are well spaced and there’s noise, but not so much that you struggle to hear your companions speak. There is background music, but it’s quite low and doesn’t intrude at all. I found this quite refreshing and very conducive to great conversations.
We were very taken with The Courthouse, from its beautifully restored lines, its nod to the contemporary, delicious food and fabulous atmosphere. We found it hard to pick holes in anything during our visit. You know you’re having a good meal if everyone around the table is already discussing when to return.
Barristers Restaurant & Bar at The Courthouse in Knutsford serves modern British seasonal menus, smoothies and cocktails throughout the day. Afternoon tea is a speciality and Sunday lunch is well worth booking in for. They’ve got a great looking fixed price menu for Mother’s Day (11th March) too.
For more information about The Courthouse in Knutsford, visit their website.
