Winning high praise for its wine, good food and first-class service from well trained and pleasant staff, the Old Bridge Hotel, Huntingdon, is a popular destination for both the local community and visitors to the area.
The restaurant at the Old Bridge has twice won the AA award for best UK wine list and wine tastings are regular events on the calendar, hosted by owner and Master of Wine, John Hoskins. A recent rosé tasting consisted of ten wines from Europe, California and Australia (available at prices from £6.95-£18.95), followed by a supper including Wester Ross salmon with lemon and herb crust, summer pudding and coffee; all for £39.50. Tastings are informative, highlighting different flavour notes and qualities and feedback is encouraged.
A wine shop is a key part of the hotel; situated on the ground floor and open until 10pm, wine tasting is a speciality, with 24 wines open to taste every day. These are kept in peak condition on an ‘Enomatic’ machine, which preserves the open bottles under inert gas. A help-yourself tasting of a range of fine wines starts from £10.
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PEAK QUALITY
The high standards of the hotel inevitably include the glassware and John Hoskins sought the advice of Meiko Partner Distributor Whitco on the choice of a new glasswasher.
“It was Jeff Whitaker from Whitco who suggested the Meiko FV40.2GiO,” says Hoskins. “You have to trust your suppliers to give the right advice and Jeff’s input was very positive, as was that of the representative from Meiko.
“Yes, it was a higher price than some others, but it is better in that it saves on chemicals and does not need a water softener, but more importantly, it reduces the need to hand polish the glassware; this has not been entirely eliminated, but almost. There is a lip on top of some of our glassware which tends to hold a bit of liquid.
“Of course, the true test is how it will perform in future years…when it comes to staff and the equipment, I only tend to hear when there is a problem…and I don’t hear much!
“We have only had one issue with the machine, following its first six month service, when it stopped working; but the fact is Meiko were back and had the machine sorted out within one hour.”
Meiko UK Limited, 393 Edinburgh Avenue, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 4UF
Email: MeikoUK@meiko-uk.co.uk
Tel. +44 1753 215120
Website: www.meiko-uk.co.uk