Dale Hurst – Author - Novelist news and other titbits
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Get In Touch
Home
About Me
Get In Touch
Dale Hurst – Author - Novelist news and other titbits
  • Home
  • About Dale Hurst
  • Blog
  • Podcast
    • Season 1
  • Work
    • Lust & Liberty
    • Sin & Secrecy
    • You Can Hear Chopin
    • Ballad of a Godless Man
  • Poetry
  • Get in touch
Browsing Tag
the drum monkey
Blog Food Writing Travels

Restaurant Review | The Drum & Monkey, Harrogate

November 24, 2021 No Comments

The second meal to come out of our recent trip to Yorkshire sees us visiting Harrogate for a delicious seafood feast. All courtesy of The Drum & Monkey…

One of the top priorities of my trip to Yorkshire earlier this month was to visit Brontaè’s Bar & Restaurant in Horsforth. The other was to have an afternoon tea in the famed Betty’s Café Tea Rooms in Harrogate, the elegance of which I marvelled at when it was featured on an episode of Remarkable Places to Eat with Fred Sirieix and Nadiya Hussain. It was impossible to book, being just the one of me. And so I had to chance it. With my luck, it wasn’t a surprise to see a queue around the side of the building. Absolutely no hope of getting in quickly. Having made the journey from Leeds to Harrogate (a modest half-hour), I went off in search of an alternative. An alternative that I eventually found in The Drum & Monkey seafood restaurant.

Harrogate reminds me a lot of Brighton in its Lanes-like series of little streets and walkways. With all manner of delights on every corner, and plenty in between. It was through this otherwise aimless exploration that I found The Drum & Monkey. The dining area is quite small; seats 20 covers at most, I’d say. Perfect for the solo diner to stay out of the way.

STARTER: BOUILLABAISSE

The Drum & Monkey BouillabaisseThe last time I had bouillabaisse, it was a waste of time. I was deathly ill with tonsillitis at the time, and so I barely tasted a thing. There was me thinking a hot fish stew would be just the thing to soothe a pained throat and give me a load of goodness. I was very wrong. So when I saw it on the menu of The Drum & Monkey, I couldn’t turn it down. And the second time was truly the charm.

You might be looking at that picture and thinking the bowl is quite small. I will tell you now that, while that may be the case, it was jam-packed full of fishy goodies. The stew itself was sumptuous and rich, the salt of the seafood perfectly balanced with sweet-umami tomato flavours. And I have to give a huge shout-out to the croûtons. None of your tiny, rock-hard bread nuggets here. These were two proper pieces of bread, deep-baked and (I believe, anyway) infused with garlic. A match made in Heaven if ever I tasted it.

MAIN COURSE: FILLET OF HAKE

The Drum & Monkey Fillet of HakeWhy not follow one rich sauce with another? I felt the fish in this dish (as is so often the case in seafood pieces) played second fiddle to its accompaniments. Which included among them braised leek, pancetta, and a Pedro Ximénez sauce. The latter, a sherry wine, is believed by some to be the sweetest wine in the world. And when combined with all those other flavours – the onion notes from the leeks and the salt from the pancetta – the end result, somewhat magically is a rich, almost brandy-caramel kind of taste.

As I say, I really feel this dominated the hake, which ended up being little more than a vehicle, albeit a very succulent one, for that sauce. Don’t mistake that as me regretting my choice. Overall, I was very pleased.

DESSERT: LAYERED CHOCOLATE BOMBE

The Drum & Monkey Chocolate BombeLike my trip to Brontaè’s, I had to seriously consider whether or not I could manage a dessert. In my earlier restaurant critiquing days, I don’t think I would have thought twice. We talked ourselves around, don’t worry. And while I was a bit underwhelmed when the Layered Chocolate Bombe I ordered first arrived, in truth it was just the ticket. Neither too big nor too rich; something relatively light to draw a line under the meal.

I pictured something more like a sphere, whereas this was more of a mound, as you’ll see from the image. A very hard outer chocolatey shell, concealing some delicious cherry filling deeper down. We all know chocolate and cherry are a happy marriage, so there were no complaints coming from that combination. The pistachios adding a bit of greenery to the otherwise dark dish did pretty little else, I won’t lie. In retrospect, I wonder if the chef was aiming for a forest floor kind of presentation?

THE DRUM & MONKEY – THE FINAL VERDICT

Of my two meals out in Yorkshire this trip, The Drum & Monkey has to take second place, sadly. While all three dishes were commendable in terms of flavour and presentation, I felt there was a lot to be desired in terms of atmosphere. I also felt the service was only as attentive as it needed to be; there seemed to be no real effort to go above and beyond. All the same, if you’re in Harrogate and fancy a seafood dinner, definitely give it a go.

For more author news and views, my Facebook and Instagram pages are here. And drop a subscription to my YouTube channel to remain informed of the latest, plus some exclusives. Furthermore, my fortnightly podcast, The Dale Hurst Writing Show, is available to listen to here on Spotify.

Continue reading
Reading time: 4 min
Written by: Dale Hurst

Newsletter

About me

This is Dale Hurst here. Novelist and journalist. Subscribe above to receive all updates.

Popular Posts

ANNOUNCEMENT: New Book in Progress

November 15, 2018

No Time Like the Present…

July 1, 2018

“To Err is Human…”

August 4, 2018

You Can Hear Chopin from the Attic: A Brief Overview

January 24, 2019

Categories

  • Ballad of a Godless Man
  • Biographical
  • Blog
  • Characters
  • Food Writing
  • Journalism
  • Lifestyle
  • Lust & Liberty
  • Poetry
  • Sin & Secrecy
  • Travels
  • Work
  • Writer
  • You Can Hear Chopin

dalehurst_author

The Berylford Scandals (1. Lust & Liberty, 2. Sin & Secrecy) 📚
Podcaster | The Dale Hurst Writing Show🎙️

Dale Hurst | Author
While it's too drizzly to enjoy a Sunday on the Bo While it's too drizzly to enjoy a Sunday on the Boulevard down here in Bournemouth at the moment, I've instead reflected on my most recently published piece 'Sunday on the Boulevard with my Pet Lobster' and chucked it all in a new post on my website. Have a read if you want to find out more about what inspired this bizarre little tale (#linkincomments)🦞🚬🏖️📖📚✍️🖊️
.
📸 @jkw.media 
.
#bournemouthwriters #bournemouthwritingprize #comedy #amwritingcomedy #sundayontheboulevard #surrealism #writingcommunity #writerscommunity #authorcommunity #authornetwork
And with that, he was 30... 🥳 I was going to do And with that, he was 30... 🥳
I was going to do a huge carousel post with some of my favourite photos taken across my 20s. But having done two degrees, practised and retired from journalism, independently published two novels, hosted two podcasts, and met countless amazing people in that time... to sum that all up in 10 photos would be impossible 😆 so... more of the same in the next 10 years? Why not? 🤣😱🧐 In the meantime me and my MVPs right here 
.
#ladsladslads #crimefamily #writersofinsta #ignovelist #authorcommunity #writingcommunity #30thbirthday
2022 was a funny old year... new job, new home, pu 2022 was a funny old year... new job, new home, published something new, lost someone dear, and saw two of my oldest and best friends get married... Not sure about you but I'm a bit knackered 😆 anyway, Happy New Year everyone 😘🧐
.
#happynye #nye2022 #writersofig #igwriters #ignovelists #authornetwork #writingcommunity #novelists
The listener favourites of Season 2 of #thedalehur The listener favourites of Season 2 of #thedalehurstwritingshow have been totalled up. The following episodes are evidently NOT to be missed!
▪️The most-listened episode of Season 2 was our spooky special Episode 17, featuring author @alex_colvin_ 
▪️Second-most was Episode 12, featuring crime novelist @jasonrvowles 
▪️Third was Episode 19, which featured actor and playwright @conor_jquinn and director @tazy_hm 
▪️An honourable mention goes to our somewhat different Episode 11, starring singer-songwriter @calum_lintott 
.
Listen to my podcast now on Spotify and Google Podcasts🎙️📚📖🖋️🎧
.
#writingwisdom #writingpodcast #podcastsofig #podcastlife #podcastersofig #writerslife #novelist #creativewriting #authornetwork #writingcommunity
2022 has been eventful to say the least... I won't 2022 has been eventful to say the least... I won't go into the personal stuff, but my latest blog post - link in comments - sums up my professional updates for the year (in case you missed them 😉) 📚
.
📸 @jkw.media
.
#authorsofig #amwritinghistfic #amwritingthriller #amwritingcrime #podcastersofig #igpodcasts #writercommunity #authornetwork #writersofig #ignovelist
To all friends and family, personal and profession To all friends and family, personal and professional, domestic and international, I wish a wondrous Christmas 🎄🥰🎄 
.
#merrychristmas2022 #christmaswishes #elegantchristmas #bookstagram #amreading #amwriting #authorsofig #writersofig #ignovelist
I'll say thank you again to everyone who guested a I'll say thank you again to everyone who guested and listened to Season 2 of The Dale Hurst Writing Show. If you haven't caught it yet, it's on Spotify and Google Podcasts. Swipe 👈👈👈 for a snippet of each episode 😉😉😉 📚🎙️
.
#podcastaddict #thedalehurstwritingshow #writingwisdom #writingpodcast #podcastsofig #igpodcasts #writingcommunity #authornetwork #writerslife #igwriters
Get your 2023 reads started the right way - with t Get your 2023 reads started the right way - with tales of deceit, betrayal, secrets and forbidden love... Not in your personal lives of course (unless that's what you're into), but with my Berylford Scandals books. Both available on Amazon now at slashed prices! Order via my DMs and I might sign them too 📚📝📘📙
.
📸 @jkw.media 
.
#2023reads #amreadingmystery2023 #periodpiece #amreadingcrime2023 #amreadingromance2023 #currentreads #newyearreads2023 #theberylfordscandals #lustandliberty #sinandsecrecy
Load More… Follow on Instagram

Dale Hurst

  • About Dale Hurst
  • Get in touch

Recent Posts

  • Behind the Writing: “Sunday on the Boulevard with my Pet Lobster”
  • A 2022 End-of-Year Progress Report
  • 5 Writing Rules You’re Likely to Break (Without Even Meaning To…)
  • 5 Ways to Find Inspiration for Character Names
  • 5 Things to Know About Your Main Character (s)

Dale Hurst

  • Email
    dale.hurst93@gmail.com
  • Address
    Poole, Dorset
© 2020 Copyright Dale Hurst // All rights reserved