Eat My Words: We review The View at garden centre Rutland Nursery

There have been many occasions where I have been called old before my time.

My ideal night out is an early dinner with a couple of drinks and tucked up in bed by 10pm at the latest. I also love a garden centre.

I’m not green-fingered and couldn’t tell you the difference between a buddleia and a hydrangea. But what I do know is that garden centres often serve tasty, local food and make for a wholesome afternoon out.

On this particular sunny Saturday, my friend Lucy and I, accompanied by cocker spaniel Jeeves, were off to pick pumpkins from the patch at Rutland Water Golf Course so we swung by Rutland Nursery which is just two minutes down the road.

Pulling into the gravelled parking area which was crammed with cars, it was clear we weren’t the only ones with this idea.

We weaved our way amongst the pergolas and planters to The View, which is a 100-seater restaurant with floor to ceiling windows revealing the stunning Rutland Water and serene countryside.

All the tables were filled and the host greeted us with the news that it would be a wait of between 45 minutes and an hour and handed us a pager which would buzz when our table was ready.

We decided it was pointless to drive elsewhere when the pumpkin patch was just around the corner so with the pager in hand, we mooched through the greenhouses which were vibrant with colourful plants.

Time has a knack of going slowly when you’re eagerly awaiting something, but even more so when you’re hungry.

The View having bums in every seat is not a one-off. In fact their website explains: “We’re incredibly happy that so many people want to come and eat with us, but due to that popularity it’s sometimes not possible to get you seated straight away. So we operate a pager system, which works very successfully.”

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As the clock ticked past the one hour mark and our tummies gave another frustrated grumble, we decided that f we weren’t called up soon we would have to give lunch a miss as the pumpkin patch would soon be shut.

But then finally (one hour and 10 minutes later) the moment we were waiting for arrived.

Our table was in the central area of the restaurant, and had a perfect view of the large olive tree which sits under the vaulted cedar-clad ceiling.

The waitress who showed us to the table muttered under her breath that she was breaking all the rules with where she seated us, which I can only assume was due to us having our four-legged friend in tow. Most of the groups with pooches sat around the outside of the room and had tables surrounded by dog beds and water bowls.

The menu was vast with everything from salads, sandwiches and light bites to deli platters and hearty mains. We’d already pondered it online while we were waiting.

We went half-and-half on two sourdough sandwiches with the fillings of roast ham, mature cheddar and onion marmalade sandwich and a pastrami, sauerkraut and mayonnaise (swapped from the usual mustard mayo), plus a bowl of chips to share.

For drinks, I opted for a Belvoir Farm raspberry lemonade while Lucy chose a Coca Cola.

The sandwiches came out quickly - maybe they could sense our eagle eyes on the kitchen - and were neatly presented on a plate alongside a fresh side salad.

Both were generously packed with fillings in between the sourdough, which was soft and light.

Coming out on top was the ham, cheese and marmalade sarnie, which had the perfect ratio between the trio of fillings.

The pastrami had strong peppery flavours which were offset by the mild mayonnaise and zing of the sauerkraut. I would usually pick out rocket but with so many other strong flavours I barely noticed it was there.

With our plates polished off and a delicious looking patisserie counter visible, I wished we had more time.

But maybe it was a good thing because half the menu took my fancy. How would I have chosen between Biscoff rocky road, peanut butter millionaire’s shortbread, coffee and walnut sandwich and chocolate ganache cake?

So how long would you wait for your food?

The sandwiches were worth the wait and soaking up the beautiful surroundings was no hardship. The View may not be the place to visit if you are pressed for time though.

Out of five

Food: Delicious! These were not the sort of sandwiches I would make for myself or get in a meal deal so it was a nice treat *****

Drink: The raspberry lemonade was refreshing. If I wasn’t driving, a Multum Gin Parvo strawberry and lavender gin would have been a nice choice ***

Decor: Cosy and comfortable. There is no doubt that this restaurant is stunning - both the interior and the views. *****

Staff: Servers were friendly but could have been more conversational. ***

Price: The total came to £33.75 which is on the steeper side for a lunch. However, it was clear the quality was top notch and I would rather pay a bit more for good local grub ***

The View also gets an extra point from Jeeves and I for being dog friendly!

Have you had a great meal? Share your own Eat My Words reviews or tell us where to try by emailing: news@lincsonline.co.uk