The Harwood Arms

We had planned to have lunch at our local fish and chip shop but when we arrived, it was closed. We did what any reasonable people would do in such an instance and headed to the Harwood Arms instead. We’ve actually been meaning to come back for a while, especially since they currently have grouse on the menu, so this was a good excuse. There wasn’t any grouse on the lunchtime menu sadly but we still found plenty to tempt us.

I started with the kipper croquettes from the bar menu which were brilliant. Encased in the same golden crumb as their famous venison scotch eggs, these were crispy on the outside and full of soft mashed potato that was liberally speckled with sweet, smoky kipper.

Stephen opted for the air-dried Cumbrian ham, also from the bar menu. Since we’ve just got back from a week in Cumbria and not sampled this delight, it seemed like the right thing to do. It was very good, salty but not overly so with a subtle sweetness. There was rather a lot of it but it didn’t last long, particularly when paired with the excellent bread.

By this point we were both pretty full and a little worried about having ordered such a large main course. There was nothing we could do about it though so we just dived in and started eating, until we’d finished almost all of the roasted shoulder of roe deer that was in front of us. The meat was perfectly cooked and we didn’t really need the carving knife and fork we were presented as it fell off the bone, the accompanying celeriac mash with parsnip crisps and gravy was rich and creamy and worked well with the meat. There was also a vinegary-salad which cut through the strong flavours very well. We both enjoyed the mushrooms but didn’t think they added much.

A really good lunch and no doubt much better than the planned fish and chips. We’re already trying to work out when we can get back there to sample more of the bar menu.