So continuing in a southward direction, next up on our travels was the Station Hotel in Framlingham. It's situated in a small town in Suffolk, which is where my grandmother has lived for many many years, so as I walked in I realised I had been here before. As I remembered it the food was ok, but I was a very fussy eater when I last visited many years ago so I couldn't try the more interesting dishes.
When you walk in the door at first you might think it is an old man pub because it feels so cluttered and beer-orientated, but do not be fooled! When you look around you realise it's not full of drunks but families, friends and couples coming to celebrate or unwind, and there is simply a very good atmosphere.
The menu is hand-written on the wall, which is not ideal to try and read off, but seems very practical rather than having hard copies knocking about as their menu changes all the time. It's all very gastropub, which I used to find utterly pretentious, but now is almost perfect for me. It's plain, comfort food with surprising twists and turns, and big hearty servings but well presented.
For starters I ordered the cream of watercress soup which was simply delightful. It was dark green in colour and peppery in taste. Served with crusty white bread and creamy butter it could not have been better.
My father ordered the Irish oysters which were served with tabasco and some kind of shallot sauce if I recall correctly. The sauce was nice but he slurped his oysters neat and told me they were fantastic. I particularly dislike oysters so I had to leave this part to him.
Meanwhile we drank Victoria bitter from the brewery down the road in Earl Soham. I was upset at first as they did not have any Adnam's, but after a couple of sips I realised that this was far superior. It was golden, rather still and light on the stomach - the perfect accompaniment to the meal.
By this time all the tables in the pub were full and a group of ten had just taken the table next to us. The service was fast and soon our next course arrived.
For the main I decided against seafood after the scallop incident that afternoon, and so I opted for the spring chicken, served with coleslaw, salad and a corn fritter. The chicken had been chargrilled which added nothing to it and it may as well have been baked. It was soft but very plain. Luckily the coleslaw and corn fritter made everything a lot more interesting and saved the dish from mediocrity. I wouldn't choose it again though and should have opted for the prawn curry.
My father chose the wild rabbit and bean stew and fell in love. This was a dish made for men. As the rabbit was wild it had a lot of muscle so was lean and sort of chewy, but made up for with a fatty gravy-like sauce. Sorry for the poor photo!
On the side we ordered some potatoes and vegetables, which uncharacteristically came in very small portions, but the potatoes were seasoned really well and were delicious. Honestly these sides were poor value for money, but added so much to my rather boring main.
So overall it was a really great trip to the Station and somewhere I would highly recommend people to go eat, whether they see it as a pub or a restaurant. The service and atmosphere get top marks and the only real flaw was that the bathrooms could do with being dusted for cobwebs. Really well done!
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