The Brampton Mill is a nice gastropub and restaurant tucked away in Huntingdon.  It backs up to the River Great Ouse which offers a great scenic backdrop.  Built into the building is this really cool water mill which I didn’t get a pic of because it was sooo dark. My husband found this little gem while searching for places that offered a Christmas reveillon (pronounced rev-ee-on) meal.  Last year while visiting New Orleans we had our first experience of a Christmas Reveillon which is a really fancy dinner that usually includes 3-4 courses.  To prevent me from misquoting how the tradition started, you can learn more about it by reading this article.  Considering that our first experience was so wonderful, my husband started the hunt to find a restaurant that offered the meal  (seeing as how we are so close to France and all).
The setting in The Brampton Mill was perfect, intimate yet homey.  There was a bar with lounge seating in front of a fireplace.  The smell of burning wood really set the holiday feeling in motion.  The restaurant was extremely family friendly as there were quite a few children dining and they offered a children’s menu- a huge thumbs up.  We chose to order from the Holiday Menu as opposed to their regular menu well because that was the point of the trip right?

First Course

My husband and I always order different meals, mostly because he is a weirdo and doesn’t like people to order the same thing as him.  I also order separate because it allows me to try more of the menu when I stick my fork in his dish too lol.  I decided to go with the thyme-roasted portobello mushrooms and he chose the severn & Wye smoked salmon.
 

The dish name is deceiving because it doesn’t include all of the scrumptious deliciousness that is in that mini cast iron skillet.  Aside from the fact that the mushrooms are roasted with thyme which makes them awesome in itself.  The mushrooms are basking in a chestnut puree with melted raclette cheese.  I’ve never had raclette cheese let alone chestnut puree but man oh man I could have kissed the chef. Served on the side are toasted ciabatta slices to sop up all that yummy sauce.

My husband was gracious enough to allow me to taste his appetizer. It is really hard to describe the taste other than creamy and fresh.  The salmon was mixed in a cute glass mason type jar and was more like a spread, hence the reason I added it to some ciabatta. It was mixed in a Devon crab creme fraiche with pickled beetroot. I’ve had a few salmon dips/spreads in my time but none like this.  I am not sure if this is included on their regular menu but it was a light and refreshing way to start the course.
The Brampton Mill will most definitely be placed in our “go-to” restaurant categories.  I cannot wait until Spring comes around and we can dine outside next to the river.