Out With The Old and In With…The Old, The New and The Utterly Fabulous
The Bell at Aston Clinton Refubished
by Andrena Carden-White
We are fortunate in Leighton Buzzard to be within easy distance of Aylesbury, Dunstable and Milton Keynes and therefore we have a lot of great choice when it comes to theatres, bars and restaurants.
One favourite haunt of mine when I am heading Tring/Aylesbury way is The Bell at Aston Clinton. It has been a frequent choice for “meet halfway” lunches and the occasional dinner too, so I was delighted to go along to the launch of the new refurbishment and wow!
As the title says, the refurbishment is utterly fabulous! I found myself stroking the deep emerald booth seating and snapping random shots of details around the restaurant and bar. They have masterfully worked with the old, keeping little nooks and panelling along with the enviable original fireplaces whilst adding warmth with sumptuous fabrics, hints of gold, warm lighting and shots of colour with modern art.
Surroundings aside the menu definitely offers something for everyone. I started things off with a glass of prosecco and accompanied the rest of my meal with pinot noir (available by the glass). My partner and I had a very hard time choosing our starters, he opted for pan fried scallops with crab & king prawn bonbons and a pea & truffle oil velouté and I had sald and szechuan pepper squid with chipotle mayonnaise both were delicious and excuse the photo – it looked so good and we dived straight and only remembered to snap it once he had finished I was well on the way!! Sorry about that.
For mains, my partner went with steak, he reported was spot on I loved the Devon Crab and king prawn fishcakes with sautéed asparagus and a pea & truffle oil velouté. It was so good but one fishcake was plenty especially as I was saving room for the bomb dessert which had kirsch soaked cherrys and brownies inside, yum.
This is such a great venue right on our doorstep, parking is a cinch, the garden is lovely for lunches and there are choices of intimate rooms for dining and even private functions. There are also 11 rooms for overnight guests too.
I don’t often do restaurant reviews because my honesty can cause offense but as this was a firm favourite it was a pleasure to see the look and a true pleasure to enjoy such wonderful food. You can book now for the official re-opening on 21st August. https://www.thebellastonclinton.co.uk/
