I visited one of Bridgnorth’s most handsome restaurants - this is my honest review

It was opened in 2020 and the team behind it deserve every credit. Northgate House has been converted from a local practice into an all-singing, all-dancing wedding venue, café bar, and dining room.

It serves breakfasts and brunch, coffee and cake, and the full monty for those who want lunch or dinner. In an era where it’s hard to appeal to all-comers, The Atrium has covered most bases while preserving the character and tradition of a beguiling venue. The restoration was sympathetic, the interior pays homage to the standards that were once kept. It’d be nice to think that if a visit were to be made by Dr Georgian Doctor, which, I’m sure, wasn’t the former GP’s name, he – because it would have been a he, back then – would have rolled the tips of his handlebar moustache while purring with approval.

I felt much the same. Bridgnorth’s a magnificent town. A town beloved by day trippers from across the great divide – that’s the Shropshire/Staffordshire border, to you and I – it’s steeped in history and is the perfect place for a day out.

With the majesty of the River Severn, with the aesthetic splendour of a lovingly preserved town centre, and with miles and miles of undulating countryside, there are few places finer.

Curiously, the town hasn’t boasted the sort of gastronomic tradition that other Shropshire towns have developed.

While Ludlow had a history of Michelin-starred chefs, albeit a generation ago, Bridgnorth welcomed mid-priced indies.

While Shrewsbury enjoyed a moment in the sun, as its food festival was launched and as a glut of great independents opened, Bridgnorth danced to a different beat.

While North Shropshire raised its game, with Michelin-rated restaurants and chefs meeting demand, its mid-county neighbour ploughed a different furrow.

And to the present day, Bridgnorth retains a profile that’s markedly different to some other towns. It has a great pizza bar, pretty good Bangladeshi and Indian restaurants, a decent Thai, and a handful of other restaurants that offer affordable, no-frills dining.

Not that there aren’t attempts by some to aim for the stars.

And at The Atrium, there are fancy nibbles at the start of a varied menu, which features plenty of popular classics, like a burger, katsu, pie, and pasta dish, while also hinting at greater ambition on the part of the chefs.

The nibbles, incidentally, were reasonable. Parmesan and truffle were served with spring bean aranchini and a pea ketchup.

It was a taste of spring, with umami-rich notes of parmesan and truffle complementing the spring beans and peas.

While the idea was decent, the arancini was slightly under-seasoned. A little more salt, a little more tasting, and the kitchen may be onto something good.

The starter was good. Like the snack, it was a taste of summer, with buratta, heirloom tomato, balsamic, and a few aromatic basil leaves.

The art of great cooking is to source great ingredients and let them do their own talking, which is what The Atrium’s starter did.

The tomatoes were almost like sweets, popping with sun-drenched flavour, while the burrata was creamy and the perfect pairing.

A main of baked plaice fillet, with spring garden vegetables and hasselback potatoes, featured some good cooking and was conceptually pleasing.

Again, it was slightly underseasoned for this food critic and the plaice, too, was slightly over-cooked, and accuracy is all when handling delicate protein that should be just-so. Translucence was conspicuous by its absence and the dish underwhelmed slightly as a result.

There were lovely ideas, there were pleasant ingredients, there was some good cooking, but there were a couple of inaccuracies and missed details that made what might have been a breathless afternoon into something a little more pedestrian.

And while it was minor tweaks – a little more salt, a little more care on the pass, a little less time in the pan – those are the details that can make a difference.

Even so, it was a pleasurable afternoon. Service was good. Attentive, polite, and welcoming, the team made a good impression and were good ambassadors for The Atrium. The two and three-course menus offered great value for money too.

And then there was the environment, which was dreamy. There was an atrium – I know, quelle surprise – that flooded the room with natural light, while wood floors and dark walls lent the venue a touch of class.

The Georgian townhouse feel was underscored by tasteful furnishings, a vast, classy mirror that bounced more light around the room, as well as paintings of a particular era and a pair of classy chandeliers that were redolent of a different time.

In truth, the dining experience was at times a little underwhelming. It felt like a footballer hitting the crossbar, rather than the back of the net, having received a great assist.

But there was enough to make it pleasant – and, frankly, with great surrounds, good staff, and a magnificent town, it was a happy enough outing.