Review of The Barn Restaurant, Terrington St John: Superb Sunday roast in a vibrant setting

In our latest Eat My Words review, Jeremy Ransome and his wife visit a hugely popular village restaurant…

My wife works in Wisbech, and she is constantly telling me how friends and colleagues recommend The Barn as a lovely place to go for a really nice meal.

But don’t be fooled by the postcode, this thriving village eatery is as close to Lynn as it is to our Fenland neighbour and, judging by the number of people there on Sunday afternoon, is extremely popular.

We booked for 2pm on Sunday and, when we arrived, although there were obviously dozens of visitors, the car park was large enough to cater for us all.

On entering, we were quickly seen and given a choice of three tables for two - the rest of the large, open eating area was packed with mostly families.

There is a real buzz at The Barn with lots of chatter and laughter, ranging from the gurgles of babies to the friendly banter of elderly relatives. All ages are here, and a lovely family atmosphere pervades.

Once seated, we first took a look at the drinks menu. I chose a pint of Moretti lager (£6.50) and Josi went for a large Pinot Grigio (£7.45). She enjoyed it so much that she had a second before the end of the meal!

The Barn is open seven days a week, but Sundays are roast days, with the English staple served from noon until around 3.30pm.

Customers can choose from beef, turkey, pork, gammon or nut roast, with trimmings including homemade Yorkshire pudding, roasted and mashed potatoes, carrot and swede, stuffing, a selection of market vegetables and cauliflower in cheese sauce. Up to two meats are £16.95, all four meats £19.95, and children can eat for £8.95.

Subject to availability, there is also roast Dexter beef from The Barn’s own herd of cattle farmed locally, and roast leg of lamb, both £18.95. All other ingredients also come from local suppliers.

Josi had decided long before we arrived that she was going to have beef, and when her plate came, there was loads of it, as well as the biggest Yorkshire pudding I’ve ever seen, along with roast potatoes, mash, stuffing and a homemade beef gravy.

Red cabbage and a lovely selection of vegetables were in separate serving dishes for both of us, and we had not opted for the cauliflower cheese.

I chose the nut roast, which also came as a very impressive portion. Also, because I didn’t want Yorkshire pudding and mash, I noticed I was given extra roast potatoes, which I was very pleased about.

The nut roast was among the tastiest I’ve ever had. Sometimes this dish is more akin to a dry stuffing, but not at The Barn. This was moist and tasty and even contained some berries and sultanas.

The roasties were crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, the stuffing full of flavour, the vegetables fresh and cooked to perfection. But the star of the show for me was the superb red cabbage, which was absolutely bursting with flavour. Josi said her beef was gorgeous, as was the gravy.

Now, I’ve got to admit that even though Josi left some of her Yorkshire and we couldn’t get through all the vegetables, we miraculously still found room for desserts!

Again, Josi had decided well before the visit that if sticky toffee pudding (£8.25) was on the menu, then it would be on our table. She had it with custard and said it was delicious and a lot lighter than this dish can sometimes be.

A brownie, cheesecake of the day, lemon posset, cookie pie, peanut butter stack, sponge of the week with custard, traditional sponge pudding, pavlova, chocolate overload sundae, fruit overload sundae and ice cream were also available, all at £8.25.

There were also a couple of vegan desserts on request, and I plumped for the chocolate cherry slice with non-dairy ice cream (£8.25), which was absolutely delicious.

The Barn is open 5.30pm-11pm Monday to Saturday, offering a range of starters (£7.95-£8.95), pastas and salads (£13.95-£17.45), specials (£15.95-£21.95), steaks (£23.95-£33.95), burgers (£15.95-£19.95), and fish (£15.95-£18.95), with sides and a children’s menu too.

Ratings out of five:

Food: We both agreed it was the best roast meal we have had for a very long time. ****

Drink: We went for our favourites, but there was a large range of draught and bottled beers and ciders, wines, cocktails, spirits, soft drinks and hot drinks. *****

Staff: The staff were friendly, helpful and extremely attentive. ****

Decor: The room was spacious and simple, yet classy, with nods to Fenland’s agricultural heritage. ****

Price: Total price for two delicious mains, two gorgeous desserts and three alcoholic drinks was £71.80, which I found reasonable. ****