Archie’s restaurant finds its beginnings in an old barn at the rear of an early 1900’s butchers shop. The barn though has been lovingly and tastefully restored to become home for Sandiacre’s newest place to eat.
The story go’s that Colin and Debbie Reid the owners of the Glory Hole, the aforementioned butchers shop that now sells kitchens, fireplaces and furniture plus a whole range of other objects, decided to restore the barn that is attached to the rear of their shop. Colin designs and builds bespoke kitchens and restores antique furniture, so the skill and designation to take such a task on were there in abundance. Now when the project of restoration was nearing completion, along came Lloyd and Becky Pearson who immediately saw the potential to realise their dream of opening their own restaurant, the rest, as they say is history.
As you walk into Archie’s you immediately understand that this is a modern yet rustic building, with its Oak floors and furnishings and sand blasted brick walls. You enter a glass roofed reception area, where you are welcomed and allowed to consider the menu and enjoy a drink before being shown to your table. On the wall in this area you will notice a Black and White picture of a Young Boy, Lloyds Father, Arthur or ‘Archie’ as he was known, who sadly died June 2005. Archie shared the dream of Lloyd running his own restaurant and is therefore honoured with the restaurant’s name.
Archie’s award Winning Head Chef Ian Matthews along with his team and their innovative ideas offer an exciting menu of dishes from Britain, Europe and around the world, and boasts locally supplied fresh produce for their ingredients. So what did we choose on the night?
To start, I had an order of Pan Fried Mussels in a Wine and Cream Sauce, with Dry Cured Bacon and Shallots. Served in a hot Iron pan the presentation was excellent, as was the taste, delicate mussels complemented by the creamy sauce, which I took the opportunity of mopping up with the fresh bread that we had been served. My friend had an order of Warm Walnut Crusted Goats Cheese, Two Cakes of goats Cheese wrapped in walnut! Did it work? Well yes it did! An interesting combination, that sent the senses on an adventurous trip through the soft cheese and crunchy walnut crust.
For main, one of our group ordered the Herb Crusted Rack of Derbyshire Lamb, nicely pink inside and succinctly flavoured with the Herb Crust, the addition of a Baby Shepherds Pie with the dish was nothing short of inspiration, an ingenious contrast! I chose to order the fish dish of Char Grilled Sea Bass with Battered Crab. Now I have mentioned before that my first instinct is not to order fish, but I’m starting to see it as a challenge to try something new when dining out.Well I have to say that I really enjoyed the Sea Bass, cooked to perfection and so fresh tasting to the pallet, I can honestly recommend it. Another member of our group ordered the Local Farmed Fillet of Beef served with a Single Malt Whisky Sauce. How often do you order your steak medium rare and it comes out closer to well done? Well the Fillet was received exactly as ordered and the Malt Whisky Sauce had a distinct but not overpowering taste.
For pudding,we each had a different choice.The traditional Selection of British Cheese and Biscuits, an ample selection that would satisfy the largest of appetites, served on a slate tile very aesthetic. The Baileys Bread & Butter Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce, can you remember Bread & Butter Pudding,well this has a twist, if you like Baileys you’ll love this! We also enjoyed Duck Egg Crème Brulee a rich tasting desert particularly colourful made with local Duck Egg. But the winner for us was the Open Apple Pie – Apple Pie but with no lid on it, ingenious!
The owner and manager Lloyd Pearson is an experienced and qualified chef, having done the rounds of Hotels and restaurants around the country, spending a notable time in London. But the goal was always to have his own baby to run and I’m pleased to say that he has achieved it. It’s a new restaurant, so there will be teething problems at first but Lloyd is very realistic about this and has the desire to get everything just right. Archie’s is and will be a great place to eat, with good service and good food you can’t go wrong, and he won’t!
Website Design by
GRL Design
| Built, Maintained and Hosted by
Cognotive
Website Design by GRL Design | Built, Maintained and Hosted by CognotiveWebsite Design by GRL Design | Built, Maintained and Hosted by Cognotive