Rating **** Sharon Walters enjoys a ‘grazing’ platter on a windy night.

It was blowing a gale and feeling very autumnal when I made my way up the A49 to do a review for this column.

Housmans, Church Stretton

It really wasn’t the sort of weather you want to venture out when there’s a cosy fire at home. But needs must!

And I have to say the journey was worth it.

You don’t normally find many places open for food on Monday evenings in south Shropshire, especially as we edge towards winter. Those that are tend to be so quiet you can literally hear a pin drop.

Not so when we arrived at Housmans Cafe Bar in High Street. The wind literally blew us in through the door but several tables were occupied and the welcome was warm.

I love to ‘graze’ and Housmans offers a tapas grazing menu which just fitted the bill. There are also more substantial dishes on offer and at lunchtime snacks and lighter meals are offered.

We went for the very good value Tapas Platter for two to share at £27. For that you choose four dishes from the grazing menu and also get a portion of gralic and herb potatoes, breads and oils.

Our choices were a whole baked Camembert studded with garlic and dusted with paprika, Albondigas (homemade meatballs), Gambas Ajillo (whole tiger prawns with garlic and onions) and breaded field mushrooms (baked in spinach and garlic cream with a herb crust).

Suffice to say with all that garlic the vampires were definitely kept at bay that night!

The dishes sell individually for £6.50 and when you take in the extra dish,potatoes and oils that is very good, especially with the size of the portions.

The cheese was just runny enough to dip bread into and the meatballs came in a rich and flavoursome tomato sauce. The mushroom was earthy tasting and quite delicious but the gambas, for me, were a little overcooked.

There was good quality balsamic and olive oil and a full bread basket – but we had to ask for more as my dining companion prefers white to any sort of brown bread and quickly demolished his share but still wanted to dip into all the lovely sauces. A request for more brought another full basket and there was no extra charge.

If you want you can just pop for a drink with a tapas snack such as salted almonds flavoured with paprika for £2 or olives marinated in herbs & oil for £2.

A great choice for a horrible evening.

ADDRESS
Housmans Cafe Bar, 27 High Street, Church Stretton SY6 6BX
Tel: 01694 724441
Web: www.housmanscafebar.co.uk

MENU SAMPLE
TAPAS SELECTION
Fresh breads  with balsamic glaze and oil – for one £2; Taramasalata – creamy smoked cod roe dip and bread sticks £2; Tapas platter – for two to share, four tapas dishes from the menu or the specials board with garlic and herb potatoes, breads and oils £27; Calamaris £6.50; Chicken saltimbocca – chicken breast stuffed with roast peppers and parma ham in a tomato and olive sauce £6.50; Lamb’s kidneys, marinated in garlic rosemary and cream £6.50; Crispy duck leg with hot and sour sauce and noodles £6.50; Fish cakes £6.50; Plate of cured meats with chutney £6.50