In Newmarket, the White Hart Hotel’s downstairs pub and restaurant features a variety of drinks and drink specials. It has a large bar with several taps to quench one’s thirst. ()
Situated smack dab in the heart of Newmarket is a pub, hotel and restaurant in a building that screams Old English charm but has a surprisingly modern look on the inside.
The White Hart Hotel’s restaurant and pub has a cozy feel with its leather seats and booths as well as its large curvaceous bar brimming with about a half-dozen beer taps. Those taps dish out Fosters, Stella Artois, Guinness, Strongbow and other frothy drinks.
The downstairs restaurant/pub is dimly lit, but its window façade allows plenty of light in to lighten up the place and the mood. There is also a smattering of flat-panel TVs posted around the restaurant and tavern. And a sign outside the establishment advertises that it shows all the games on Sky Sports and Setanta.
White Hart’s menu is a mixture of dishes from around the globe with its tapas, quesadillas, burgers and Stateside Sharing plate, which includes Southern chicken, beer-battered onion rings and crispy potato skins for 10.95 pounds. The menu also includes prawns and yummy desserts, such as chocolate truffle brownie.
The eatery touts its Aberdeen Angus burger and its drink specials, such as two cocktails for 6 pounds.
The Prime Aberdeen Angus burger 6-ounce serving for 6.95 pounds was a hearty helping with a patty, slice of ham, cheddar cheese and an onion ring. It was cooked well done and had a savory flavor to it with the ham and cheese. For those with a big appetite there is also a 12-ounce Aberdeen Angus burger.
A taste of the spicy nachos, however, with sour cream, salsa and jalapenos on the side, left much to be desired. The melted cheese was hard on the outside and on the taste buds, and it was much more blah than spicy.
The service — unlike the nachos — was good, with the staff being able to take orders at the bar. The meal arrived in a timely fashion and the waitress was friendly and courteous.
White Hart’s Web site boasts that there is never a boring night there with its "theme nights," such as its "Back to School" theme in which people get dressed up in attire resembling school-uniforms. Many of the theme nights are based on holidays and special occasions.
Being that the White Hart is in the heart of England’s racing country, the Web site also has a racing schedule and it notes that it is only a 20-minute walk from the Rowley Mile Race Course. Its menu is posted online for viewers to flip through using the cursor and mouse to turn its pages as if it was the paper copy.
Location: 134 High St., Newmarket, CB 8 8JP.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; 10 a.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Saturdays; and noon to midnight on Sundays.
Web site:www.thewhiteharthotel.com
