Reviewer’s rating **** New faces, new furniture, new experience. A compact riverside restaurant at Bridgnorth now cuts quite a dash, writes Rex M Key.

The River House Kitchen nestles beneath the clock town at the end of the bridge in Low Town and was formerly called Leo’s and, before that, Il Brigantino.

It is now run by husband and wife team John and Sandra Farnell. Not a very Italian sounding couple but the restaurant has a distinctly Mediterranean flavour.

It offers bruchettas, pastas and pizzas, as well as traditional English fare, like steak, and chicken and fish.

It’s not a large premises, with just 23 covers but outside it has an attractive, covered patio area practically at the water’s edge . . . if only the weather was a bit more Mediterranean-like.

River House Kitchen has got off to a winning start if its booking list is anything to go by as we made several attempts to reserve a table, only to find that every one had been taken. We therefore made a reservation almost a week ahead – a situation many restaurants would be acutely envious of.

Curiously, when we arrived the dining area was empty, and the kitchen staff were outside enjoying the last of some fleeting sunshine. But within half an hour every seat was occupied.

I started on the Merlot Reserve Coastline first up; I find red wine helps me to get in the mood. I ordered the chicken and pepperoni terrine with rocket and herb oil – but they’d sold out so I went for pan-fried king prawns with tapenade toast and glazed rocket (£5.95). Not the cheapest of five starters but I had no complaints. Big, fat, tasty prawns which I stripped easily from their carapaces (finger bowl and serviettes provided).

You can’t do Italian without olives and Libby asked for the anti-pasti olives, sundried tomatoes, Parma ham, salami, mozzarella and olive oils (£5.95). It packed the expected punch and Libby scored it very highly. It was almost a main course in itself and, in fact, for £7.95 you can get a mains-sized amount.

We cleared everything (except for the rocket) and confidently awaited further delights. Going out for an expenses-paid meal and then ordering a pizza seems a bit low-key. However, this was not an ordinary pizza. The River House Kitchen feast (£8.95) punches well above its weight. Meat balls, pepperoni, Parma ham, tomato and swathed in a thick blanket of melted mozzarella, a pleasure to eat as well as a test of the appetite. It was on a nine-inch, home-made base, although it looked bigger, and was more than enough for me. Even so, I didn’t send any of it back.

Not much chatting went on as I applied myself to my pizza, and Libby, similarly, had a nicely filling rosemary and garlic chicken breast with crushed potatoes and wild mushroom and goats cheese sauce (£10.95). Obviously it was nearer classic British than Italian. For flavour it was superb. Mild goat’s cheese sauce, with the piquant garlic and hint of rosemary went beautifully with the moist chicken breast. With the potatoes and mushrooms, Libby had a side dish of broccoli and cauliflower (£2.50), so was more than happy.

We really should not have ventured into the desserts but everything was going swimmingly, so we were reluctant to quit. The chocolate and orange cheesecake with strawberry syrup (£4.50) sounded unmissable. It proved however not to be the highlight of the meal (perhaps because it lacked the crunchy, biscuity base, but was eminently eatable just the same).

Libby had something which I think was described as rose and mixed berry jelly with chantilly cream (£4.50). She’d never had slices of jelly before, but apart from that it was excellent.

Two nice cups of Illy coffee rounded off a very satisfactory evening, which cost a total of £53.

I can see why we had difficulty booking. The River House Kitchen cooks a very good meal.

John and Sandra Farnell are Bridgnorth people and obviously have a very clear idea about locals and visitors want. During the day (10am until 4.30pm) the cafe menu offers light bites like toasted teacakes, pananis and sandwiches with an assortment of cakes.

If beer is your tipple, they offer ales from the Bridgnorth Brewing Company at the Kings Head Courtyard. The gentlemen sitting next to us tasted it, and declared it very satisfactory.Contact

ADDRESS
13 Bridge Street,
Bridgnorth WV15 5AA
Tel: 01746 761666

MENU SAMPLE
Starters
Mozzarella and vine tomato salad with pesto and pine nuts (£4.50); Home-made soup of the day (£3.95)

Main courses
Pan-fried 8oz sirloin steak with mixed vegetables in a smoked paprika sauce (£13.95);
Tempura battered monkfish with sweet pea guacamole and sweet potato chips (£12.95)

Dessert
Chocolate and strawberry sponge; Bakewell tart with vanilla custard

ATMOSPHERE
Convivial

SERVICE
Friendly and professional

DISABLED FACILITIES
Narrow entrance, small toilet area