Review: The new Autumn Menu at Brewers Fayre Chafford Hundred

In the last week it feels like Autumn has hit with a vengeance. Were it not for the fact that my thermostat has given up working, we would have had the heating on for sure. As it happens, snuggled up under a big fleecy blanket, I decided to just dream about big bowls of warming wintry soups, and hearty stews with fluffy dumplings.

Thing is, those sorts of things (unfortunately) don’t just appear out of thin air. And sadly, I seem to have misplaced the suet, and the vegetables that might have been destined for soup are past the ‘sorry for themselves’ stage so that was a no-go too. So…on to option number two. Go out for lunch instead!

Brewers Fayre have just introduced their new Autumn Menu and it provides plenty of fodder for snuggly sofa imaginings. The Chicken and Ham pie, for example – nothing more autumny than a nice big helping of hot buttery puff pastry encasing a generous, creamy, flavourful filling that just oozes out all over the chips and peas sitting next to it. And curry! Curry always warms me up and there are four new options to choose from: Chicken or Vegetable Biryani, Beef Rendang, Chicken Balti, and Chicken Tikka Masala (my personal favourite). Plus of course, there is soup. My mum always made a cracking cockaleekie and so seeing it sitting there tantalisingly on the menu made me smile. Who needs a thermostat, anyway?

Brewers Fayre in Chafford Hundred is not somewhere we’ve been before, and having read on the website that they have a play area for the kids, I had high hopes. Generally speaking, eating out with the kids is more of an olympic herding activity than a relaxing experience, but with Little B actually being old enough to (kind of) listen to instructions now we thought it would be worth braving again.

 

As it happens, eating somewhere with a play area is a revelation. The kids did not grumble or moan the entire time. We got to eat our (very delicious) cock-a-leekie soup whilst it was still hot. They even enjoyed their own meals (kids meals are very reasonably priced at £3.99 for one course, £4.49 for two courses or £4.99 for starter, main and dessert). Oh, and Brewers Fayre also do Starslush AND it is Vimto flavour. WIN.

The table we sat at had a screen next to it advertising all the latest additions to the menu, and – on top of the already very extensive menu – it made it quite difficult to choose. The sausage and mash in a giant yorkshire pudding in particular caught my eye. I liked the fact that the kids menu has a great variety too – the kids all chose something different (Spaghetti Beano-ese, Tomato Splat pasta, and breaded fish bites AKA The Cod-apult) and they all really liked what they ended up with. Plus they all came with a choice of two sides, which meant the kids could tailor them to their requirements.

The Other Half was fairly impressed with his carvery meal, which costs £9.99 for adults and consists of a starter of tomato soup, three slices of meat (he chose one of each) and as many sides as you can stuff on your plate. Although he got the end bit of beef, which was more chewy than he would have liked, he was full of praise for the gammon which was wonderfully tender and flavoured just right. Add that to the mashed carrot concoction, with the perfect texture and taste combination, and he was quite happy with his food.

 

On the way in to the restaurant we were greeted with a carousel showcasing all the desserts on offer, and so of course it was inevitable that we’d have to have some. The kids all got the chocolate indulgence sundae which – for an additional 50p on top of their main course – was an incredibly generous size and packed full of exciting things (chocolate brownie, marshmallows, chocolate ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and little bits of chocolate sprinkled on top). The Other Half and I decided to go for the family sharer, which came with two dipping sauces and a selection of things to dip in them, for only £5.99. I think, having had quite a large main course, it was perfect for picking at without feeling like we were trawling through a big rich dessert too. The kids were pretty keen on helping us out as well!

 

Although we went on a Sunday, and so were not able to take advantage of the daytime value prices which run throughout the week (two starters for £2.50, two mains for £10.99 and two desserts for £2.50, Monday to Friday 12-6pm) we still only spent £50 quid feeding all of us with two courses and a large glass of wine for the Other Half on top (I got the designated driver short straw, although luckily for me there was bottomless pepsi on offer so I wasn’t too disgruntled).

Although it was very busy (it seems lots of families are quite keen on the ‘watch them enjoy the soft play whilst you sit and relax at the table’ thing, unsurprisingly) it didn’t FEEL busy, the staff were very relaxed and helpful and the atmosphere was chilled out. After their food the kids were even more excited to find a great play area in the garden outside, which was a bonus as they burned off all their energy which made for an easy journey home.

With half term coming up and three kids to keep occupied, I’m very glad that we found Brewers Fayre in Chafford Hundred. Taking advantage of the new Autumn Menu and the daytime value deal during the week while they have fun in the soft play sounds like a very good way of keeping my sanity safe and my wallet happy!

 

Disclosure: We were provided with a £50 voucher for Brewers Fayre for the purposes of carrying out this review, but all words and opinions are my own and it was not required to be a positive one.