Review of 'The Townhouse Nantwich'
Having just moved to the area we are beginning our explorations of local eating emporiums. “The Townhouse” is an impressive looking building behind the high on Mill Street, with (unusually) it's own parking lot that you have to pass through to get to the rather imposing main entrance. It has a large indoor seating area on the right that is obviously suitable for event booking as well as a bar area to the left. It always seems to be busy so if you want to visit during peak times a reservation is definitely recommended. We visited early (6pm) on a Friday where we were initially only one of two sets of diners but when we left at just before 8 pm it was more than half full and getting much busier indeed.
We were seated at the far end of the room at the window. Bench seating line the walls which look more comfortable than they are - Very firm and not really conducive to lounging. We were given the menu which is very “gastro pub” divided into “Small Plates & Nibbles” (pub snacks such as “Scorched Padron Peppers”, “Garlic Flatbread”, “BBQ Ribs” and “Cajun Wings”), “Sharing Boards” (essentially combinations of the “Small Plates & Nibbles” for groups), “Starters”, “Mains”, “Cheshire Reared Beef Steaks”, “Sandwiches” (served Wednesday to Friday lunches only), “Sunday Roasts” (as it says on the tin), “Desserts” and “Sides” along with “Hot Drinks” and “Digestifs”. A separate, rather large, drink menu was also provided. Other than the bit about “Cheshire Beef” you could be in any gastro pub up and down the country with things like “Black Truffle Chicken”, “Pan Seared Scallops” and “Crispy Pork Belly” included in the offerings.
We decided to order from the actual dining menu beginning with a starter of “Chicken Liver Parfait” (£6.95; “Smooth pate serve[sic] with pear and ginger chutney, sour dough, watercress and balsamic”, presumably the diner fills in the missing words…and letters) which was quite good though no where near enough toasted sour dough. The pate was very smooth and the butter more creamy goodness.
My companion went slightly off-piste and had the “Pea & Ham Arancini” (£6.45; “With pea purée and rocket salad”) which she found quite bland though nicely presented and fresh from the fryer.
For our mains I opted for something that requires a bit of effort from the chef to prepare: “Braised Belly Pork” (£15.95; “With black pudding mash, cavolo nero, parsnip purée, cider sauce and crackling”). The pork was overcooked and quite dry though the crackling was very crisp though the oddly coloured “black pudding mash” disappointed with very little of the black pudding flavour coming through. Thankfully the cider sauce and the parsnip purée provided a bit of liquid for the dish but this was largely sucked up by the mash as I sought some flavour in this bland dish.
My companion ordered from the “Cheshire Reared Beef Steaks” section of the menu (“All steaks are served with confit tomato, mushroom and a potato side of your choice - Thick cut chips, crushed new potatoes, or mash”) choosing the “Rib Eye Steak” 10oz (£26; “A beautiful steak and our chef's favourite! This steak carries a little more fat from the rest, keeping it tender and adding lots of flavour – Definitely the juiciest cut. Enjoy your steak however you like but our chef recommends from medium rare, to medium”). She requested medium rare and opted for the chips.
So began the saga.
When the steak arrived it was cold to the touch, as were the chips (and everything else) so we called the waiter back who immediately whisked the plate back to the kitchen with apologies. It returned a very short time later and while the steak was now hot, the rest of the sides were still cold. Third time lucky, we called the waiter over who again apologised and returned with a new order of the sides. We are unsure what happened here, the only thing we could think was that they kept the steak aside while waiting for my main to be prepared as the dining room was not really busy enough to think they were overwhelmed in the kitchen.
After all of that, despite the description, the steak was tough (and most definitely towards the medium rather than medium rare) but had a good amount of flavour and the chips were absolutely wonderful - Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. As God intended them to be.
For dessert I opted for the “Sticky Toffee Pudding” (£6.95; “With toffee sauce, fudge and vanilla ice cream”) which was quite nice though slightly dry despite the toffee sauce. The ice cream was unremarkable though added a nice creaminess to the dish.
My companion opted for the promising sounding “Dark Chocolate Brownie” (£6.95; “With chocolate soil and salted caramel ice cream”) which she found very satisfactory indeed - Gooey, rich dark chocolate brownie and not overly-sweet ice cream on top.
At £78.25 for the two of us (three courses) with two bottles of sparkling water it was a bit on the pricey side and we were not overly impressed with the food which was, by and large, fairly ordinary, not exactly brimming over with flavour and often with silly technical issues – not just the cold food, but the lack of seasoning, and flavour as well – that any chef should be able to easily rectify. The generally young staff were OK but certainly not overly friendly, seeming more put off by our presence than welcoming though once you start chatting with them they quickly warmed to you.
Rating: “It is OK but I have some issues”
Review Date: 2022-03-04
Cuisine: American/British
Address: 9 Mill St, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 5ST ENGLAND
Public Transport: 
Nantwich
Location: Cheshire (England) - Nantwich
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Telephone: +44 (0) 1270 904902
URL: https://www.thetownhousenantwich.com/