Bluebells at Briddlesford Takeaway

One of the nicest things to come out of the COVID-19 lockdown is that some of our favourite Island restaurants have started getting their takeaway vibe going. We love to eat out, but the next best thing for us has been enjoying a great meal at our own dining table, cooked by someone else.

Dairy goodness

The Bluebells restaurant at Briddlesford Lodge Farm is somewhere we’ve often had good breakfasts and lunch, but with their new Friday takeaway option, we could have dinner too. The menu is shared on Facebook and you send through your order, to pick up hot and ready to eat. So one Friday night we visited the farm shop at Briddlesford to grab our meals and top up on some supplies of local Isle of Wight produce.

Briddlesford burger in a bun: £7, chips, £3

The Briddlesford burger in a bun was the first real burger Matt had eaten in months, and what a way to get back on the wagon. The big, tender burger was oozing meat taste, and despite its journey in a box, the spectacular bun held together perfectly. This classic burger delivered everything you could want. Matt had chosen chunky chips as a side, and these too travelled well, big slabs of hot, well-crisped chip that actually tasted like real potatoes. If you want a takeaway burger meal (and we know you do) we would be hard pressed to think of a better one than this.

Veal pie: £7, new potatoes: £3

There were two pie choices the night we ordered, chicken and veal; when getting your takeaway from a dairy, it would be rude not to have the latter. The pie – yes, a proper pie, not a puff pastry hat – retained its heat on its journey from the farm’s kitchen to our table. The flavour of  the tender lean meat was enhanced with a lively red wine-style gravy, in which there were also plenty of mushrooms. Cat was delighted with the pie, which came with a side of new potatoes anointed with Briddlesford’s own Guernsey butter. Peas: model’s own.

Chocolate brownie: £4.50

Cat’s brownie was rich and gooey; clearly made with the farm’s Guernsey butter. Like the pie, it arrived intact; its fruity garnish remained in place and undamaged. More buttery than chocolatey, the brownie was a dense slab of pleasure – in fact, just how she likes her men.

Eton mess: £4.50

The local version of Eton Mess is Briddlesford mess. Not surprisingly for a dairy farm that produces its own clotted cream, this was the kind of dessert that makes you sit up and pay attention, with ultra-local credentials. Served in a big plastic tub, Matt opted to eat it straight from its container, to avoid disrupting the carefully arranged luxurious layers of cream, crisp meringue, sweet berry compote, ripe strawberry and lashings of fragrant mint.

Halloumi

A few days later, we raided the larder for a slab of delicious Briddlesford halloumi-style cheese. Featured that very week by celebrity chef James Martin on Good Morning Britain, this rich, tasty hard cheese has been flying off the shelves apparently. Luckily we’d bought a disc when we picked up our dinner so our home-made supper was full of Briddlesford flavour. Matt made a chicken and onion bake topped with the halloumi, roasted tomatoes and some home-grown basil. Delicious!

Veal pie

Find out more and order your food on the Briddlesford Facebook page

Our dinner was supported by Let’s Buy Local, a campaign of Wight Marque, a project of Natural Enterprise.