Eat My Words: We review Brightside Ram Jam on A1 at Stretton, Rutland

When you choose something from a menu and the waiter responds with ‘that burger has won awards’, your expectations are high.

“You certainly won’t be disappointed,” the waiter assured me as he rushed off to put my order through the till.

It was lunchtime on a Saturday when my husband and I popped into recently-opened roadside restaurant Brightside. The Ram Jam Services off the A1 at Stretton has been transformed with Brightside as the centrepiece, alongside a new Wendy’s and a drive-thru coffee shop which is yet to open.

It’s clear it’s still new. There’s no chewing gum lining the new pavement and no potholes in the road and as you enter the restaurant - welcoming with its double doors wide open - it’s cleanliness means it feels modern, even though the vibe is very retro. The decor is intended to evoke nostalgia and it certainly does that for those old enough to remember! The avocado toilets and sinks in the ladies were definitely a blast from the past!

But back to the food and, seated in our booth, we were absolutely spoiled for choice.

The serving staff were quick to ask us for our drinks order. I opted for the vanilla latte that I seem to need these days to kickstart the weekend, while my husband Richard went for a chocolate milkshake. Left to peruse the menu, I was very keen to try a breakfast from the all-day breakfast menu - it was only a little after midday - but when Richard chose the Brightside breakfast, I quickly switched to the dirty brisket burger. “Good choice!” enthused the waiter at my split-second decision.

The drinks arrived quickly and my coffee addiction is clearly getting the better of me as my first response was ‘why is my latte served in a mug?’ (and not a fancy latte glass) but, nevertheless, there was plenty of it and the vanilla syrup was actually mixed into the coffee - the final gulp of a drink that’s entirely syrup is too sweet even for me! Richard was more than impressed by his milkshake, saying it tasted like it had been made with ice cream rather than the Jersey milk the menu said.

When the food arrived, I wasted no time tucking in. My burger had two burgers inside, along with bacon, beef brisket, caramelised onions, gravy mayo, crispy onions and salad, and it was a perfect combination of flavours with nicely cooked meat. The fries were hot and crispy, and there was no salad to frill the plate up, which is often still there at the end of a meal. I appreciated this as I honestly struggled to eat my whole meal. I was determined to finish that burger though!

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Richard also had no complaints about his breakfast. His choice of fried egg was well cooked with yolk oozing the way it should be and he liked having his tomato cooked slightly differently. I was jealous of the not one, not two, but three hash browns - a favourite for me on a breakfast. Everything tasted fresh and hot, and he finished it all except the mushroom. He’s not a big fan and had forgotten to ask to swap it for something else.

A variety of serving staff attended to us during the meal so I didn’t have a chance to tell the first waiter how much I’d enjoyed my burger but I’m pretty certain the empty plate would have spoken for itself.

I could barely breathe at the end of the meal as I was so full, which I was slightly annoyed at as a picture of an ice cream sundae had been eyeing me up from a card promoting a ‘Pudding for a pound’ offer that runs on Thursdays.

However, as this is a roadside restaurant, there’s a takeaway menu and as Richard was going on from the restaurant to visit his parents, we took a selection of cakes away with carrot cake, brownie and fruity flapjack all making it into a bag to go. Much, much later in the afternoon, I sampled the carrot cake and it was moist and delicious with a creamy icing on top.

I’ll definitely be sampling the ice cream sundae next time though and despite being a ‘roadside restaurant’ which undoubtedly is aimed at people far and wide driving on the A1 daily, I think this is a great addition to Stamford and Rutland’s food scene. There’s even a quiz night later this month.

Out of five:

Food: Did I mention the burger tasted nice? Everything was great *****

Drinks: A great range of drinks including milkshakes and cocktails ****

Decor: Retro and clean ****

Staff: Friendly and attentive, and we didn’t feel bothered to leave once we’d finished ****

Price: The meal was complimentary but the bill came to £55 for two mains, three drinks and four cakes to take away. My delicious burger was £15.95. I thought it was good value. ****

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