No.26 at Aston Marina, Stone

No.26 Bar & Dining, at Aston Marina near Stone in Staffordshire, offers a tempting selection of seasonal dishes with an emphasis on using local suppliers. On my first visit I enjoyed some satisfying Autumnal food.

It wasn’t until after I dined at No.26, Aston Marina‘s bar and restaurant, that I discovered I had, in part, the domination of supermarkets to thank for my enjoyable meal.

Bizarre as that sounds, especially when talking about a venue that prides itself on using local suppliers, it’s sort of true.

The day after my meal, I posted on social media a photo of my main course, saying that a review would follow shortly. In response, I was asked if the farm shop and butchers was still there. Farm shop? Butchers? I’d no idea either of those had existed.

Naturally inquisitive, it didn’t take long to find that, yes, there did used to be a farm shop at Aston Marina. But that closed in 2017, in part due to another supermarket setting up shop in the town of Stone, just a short walk away.

However, the owners also took the opportunity to expand Aston Marina’s existing Bistro, and No.26 Bar & Dining was born.

Aston Marina

To be honest I must admit that, like my fellow Tweeter, I’d never been to Aston Marina before either.

I knew that it was a popular wedding and events venue with its purpose-built Boat House and of course (the clue is in the title) there’s the marina itself. I was also aware of No.26 and it was on my list of places I want to visit.

As I seem to be adding more to the list than I tick off (even I can only eat so much) it’s taking me a while to get around to everywhere I want to.

But I think what finally nudged me towards No.26 was seeing their logo all over the Stone Food & Drink Festival. That and the enticing looking dishes from their new Autumn menu which were popping up on my social media.

No.26 Bar & Dining

It being a dark and drizzly October evening when myself and partner ID arrived at Aston Marina, we didn’t get to appreciate its waterside location. That’s for another time.

Instead, we hurried towards the welcoming, bright lights of No.26.

I should say, by the way, that the restaurant and bar is named after the adjacent lock on the Trent and Mersey canal.

Inside, the decor’s modern without being insufferably so. There’s a friendly, informal atmosphere, made cosy by a big wood-burning stove in the centre of the main dining area.

We were handed menus suitably illustrated with Autumn leaves. Inside was included an impressive list of local producers and suppliers which the restaurant supports.

Things were looking promising.

STARTERS

The starters at No.26 are very reasonably priced, ranging from £5 to £7.50. I thought virtually all the dozen dishes (plus those on the daily specials menu) sounded tempting, well balanced and with lots of seasonal ingredients.

A couple which especially caught my eye were the Ham Hock Terrine with pickled red cabbage and parsley salad (£6.50) and the Confit Guinea Fowl Tortellini (£7.50).

Mushrooms

Mushrooms seem to me a fitting choice for an Autumnal dinner, so I ordered Wild Mushroom & Smoked Streaky Bacon Fricassee (£6.50). It came with a Colston Bassett Stilton sauce and was served on toasted brioche.

The mushrooms appeared to be mainly oyster mushrooms. They’re one of my favourite mushrooms, soft and delicately flavoured, so I was more than happy. But were they technically wild?

Anyway, I enjoyed them in their cloak of rich sauce.

And it really was the sauce that made this dish. You might think a blue cheese would overpower the gentle-flavoured fungi. But Colston Bassett Stilton is wonderfully creamy. Tasty yes, but with none of the highly pungent acidity you might associate with lesser blue cheeses. Consequently the sauce was tongue-tinglingly savoury and I loved it.

My one slight quibble is that I think the silky fricassee would have been better served on really crunchy toast. The bread, although nicely thick, seemed to have been placed on a griddle just long enough to leave those attractive charred lines. It was still essentially soft though. There was a welcome and very crispy rasher of smoked streaky bacon which did bring some satisfying textural contrast. But proper toast would have given it a helping hand.

A bit more crunch and this would have been perfect.

Pigeon

ID chose Pan-Fried Pigeon Breast as his starter. At £7.50 this was the most expensive starter, but still extremely reasonable.

It was also a very attractive and colourful dish, served in a wide, iridescent blue bowl.

Besides the perfectly cooked pigeon breast (juicily pink, but not so rare that you could almost still hear it cooing) were ‘textures of beetroot’. These were delicately thin slivers of golden and pale pink beetroot, along with dabs of pureed dark red with its deep earthiness.

Shards of pancetta brought some salty crispness and drizzles of Balsamic dressing added tangy acidity.

In this beautiful looking dish, we didn’t detect any fancy, unexpected flavours. But I liked that it was simply good ingredients cooked well to showcase their natural qualities.

MAINS

Main courses at No.26 range from £13 for goat’s cheese salad or teriyake beef salad, through traditional fish and chips or pie of the day (both £14), favourites like slow roast pork belly (£15) and duck breast (£17.50) plus burgers and steaks from the grill (starting at £12.50 and going up to £25 for 35 day dry aged fillet steak).

As with the starters there are a few vegetarian or vegan mains. A separate gluten-free menu is available.

Venison

Again taking advantage of the seasonal options, I plumped for Duo of local venison (£17.50).

This plate was also attractively presented but looked hearty too. Exactly what I fancied on a drizzly, chilly evening.

The venison element came in the form of two thick discs of haunch steak and a crispy sphere containing soft, slow-cooked shoulder.

It’s common to see venison steaks cooked quite rare, which some people find offputting. But that wasn’t the case here. The meat at the centre of the rounds was softly pink and more medium-rare. Personally, I don’t mind rare or medium-rare so long as the venison is tender, moist and has good flavour. This plate ticked all those boxes.

Just as important though were the accompaniments which I thought were chosen well and cooked faultlessly.

well-judged accompaniments

A big hunk of creamy but well-savoury dauphinoise potato was comfort-on-a-plate. At first, I couldn’t work out what additional flavour had been added nor, being someone who loves pure potatoey-ness, whether I liked it. It gradually dawned on me that it was tarragon and, surprisingly, I found I actually liked the hint of herby-aniseed flavour it gave to the potatoes.

A bit of subsequent research told me that, news to me, tarragon is a traditional accompaniment to venison. Being rather long in the tooth now, it always cheers me to have learnt something new when eating out.

I was also cheered to see roast salsify on my plate. This underused root vegetable, once common in Victorian Britain, looks a bit like parsnip but has a much more subtle flavour. I tend to agree with those who say salsify’s similar to artichoke and enjoyed these tender, slim batons.

Greens came in the form of dark cavolo nero; a good choice as its bold irony-ness can stand up to rich meats like venison.

I should also say that the dish’s glossy sauce brought together exceptionally well all the different elements on the plate. The menu said it was a blackcurrant and cassis sauce. While fruit is a common pairing with venison, if not judged well it can be too sweet. But in this case the predominant flavour was still properly meaty with a good depth of flavour.

All in all, there’s not a thing I’d change about this dish which felt just right for the season.

Spring Rolls

For his main, ID chose a vegan dish of Crispy Vegetable Spring Rolls (£13.50).

The spring rolls were nicely crispy on the outside. The vegetables within (pepper, carrot, onion) were tender and plainly seasoned.

A jug of mildly spiced Thai green curry sauce and a bowl of sticky rice also sat on the plate. It not being immediately obviously how to eat the dish, ID decided to upturn the rice onto the plate and pour most of the curry over. He dipped morsels of spring roll into the remaining sauce.

Trying a bit of everything, I especially liked the cucumber and carrot relish. The fresh, crunchy ribbons of vegetable had been lightly pickled, and their vinegary tang gave piquancy to the dish.

While all the elements were well cooked, I do wonder if this was a complete dish? Personally, I’d have liked to see some protein on the plate.

DESSERT

Although I’m more of the savoury than sweet persuasion, I do like to have a good range of desserts to choose from. Happily, at No.26 there were almost a dozen, most of which were £6.50.

So I guess that makes it rather ironic that ID and I ended up choosing the same dessert.

Panna cotta

ID loves panna cotta (and makes a pretty good one himself), so it was no surprise that he chose Liquorice Panna Cotta (£7.00).

As for me, I’m less sold on this Italian ‘cooked cream’. Maybe because, done badly, it can be solid, rubbery and bland.

I think what tempted me here was that liquorice element, plus the blackberry compote and walnut biscotti it came with. All of these sounded perfect to end a meal full of Autumnal flavour.

To the eye, this was an elegant, restrained looking dish.

But the inelegant thing every sensible person does when presented with a panna cotta is to give the plate a bit of a shake.

In response, you want the panna cotta to give a satisfying wobble. If it doesn’t, you’ve got a less than perfect pud because the kitchen has added too much gelatine. I have to say that at No.26 we got the best wobble we’d seen in a while.

The flavour was pretty good too. A rich creaminess was offset by the bittersweet, aniseed-like hit of liquorice. In fact, I’d have liked more liquorice flavour. Judging by the purple-black speckles over and around the panna cotta, but not inside, perhaps liquorice had only been added after cooking?

I liked the blackberry compote and its neat line of whole blackberries, but I think it could’ve been marginally sweeter. I’d say the same about the walnut biscotti – and that’s as a person without a particularly sweet tooth.

Nevertheless, it was a good dessert with textures and flavours that went well together.

Highly Recommended

Perhaps you think I’m being a little mean, niggling about tiny things? Crunchier toast here, please. More sugar there, if you’d be so kind. But it’s those little elements, entirely subjective of course, that can make a meal.

Anyway, there’s no doubt that there’s some really satisfying food to be had at No.26. I was particularly impressed by my main course of venison which I really couldn’t fault. The silky oyster mushrooms in their bold Stilton sauce will stay with me too. I also just loved the overall seasonality of the menu.

On a not especially busy night, service was quick but friendly.

Price wise, I think No.26 is reasonable. Without drinks our food bill averaged out at £29.50 per person. That’s not bad considering we chose several dishes that were at, or towards the top, of the price range for each course.

If you want a great deal then I see there’s also a seasonal set menu, two courses for £16 or three for £20, available Mondays to Wednesdays from 5.00 pm.

No.26 is also open for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea.

I’ll certainly be going back, maybe after a daytime exploration of the marina and canal towpaths.

Highly recommended.

ALL PHOTOS © MOORLANDS EATER & NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT PERMISSION

ACCESSIBILITY

I’m not aware of a formal access statement for this venue and the following is my subjective impression only. Please note, however, that I’m not mobility impaired so you may wish to contact the venue directly to check whether it meets your own requirements.

There’s level access into the building and the restaurant, with reasonable space between most tables. There is a dedicated disabled toilet.

If you’ve visited this venue and can provide more information useful for people with disabilities, please leave a comment below. If you’re the owner of this venue, I’d be happy to update this post with any further information about accessibility.