Restaurant review: Hotel St Pierre, Newmillerdam

It was 4pm on a Friday and the teatime rush was not yet under way.

We tried the Fox & Hounds on Barnsley Road, but we would have had to wait until 5pm. So we wandered across to La Fortezza, an Italian across the road in a castle-style building. But La Fortezza – it means fortress in Italian – wasn’t yet open.

So that’s how we ended up at the Hotel St Pierre further up Barnsley Road. The last time I visited it was to a wedding at the newly-opened hotel in 1992.

Luckily for us they serve bar meals all day, 11.30am to 10pm. We were the only diners there at that time – I guess it was a little early to be eating.

We settled down with a pint of Pravha lager (£4.30) and a large Sentina pinot grigio (£5.95) and studied the menu. It offers simple, straightforward fare and if you want more elaborate dishes you can eat in the restaurant. We started with dipping breads to share (£3.95) which comprised roasted ciabatta with tubs of balsamic and olive oil and tomato salsa. Very well presented and tasty.

We had considered the salmon and sweet potato fishcakes or the nachos stack but will have to try those on a repeat visit.

For main courses, we deliberated over steak and ale pie (£10.95) and chilli con carne with garlic bread and rice (£11.45) but eventually settled on an 8oz rump steak (£12.95) for me and steak, mushroom, onion and cheese sandwich (£9.95) for my wife.

The steak was fabulous and served with huge juicy mushrooms, chips, grilled tomato, peas and a neat stack of beer-battered onion rings.

The sandwich was good, too – a far more substantial meal than we imagined. It was served on a bread of your choice and came with chips, homemade coleslaw and a great, fresh mixed salad.

The whole bill came to £37.10, which was acceptable for a very good meal and excellent drinks. Service was polite and faultless and the lack of atmosphere owed more to our time of dining.

The lounge was very well decorated and seemed like a charming, friendly hotel.

I’ve often wondered why this hotel is so named, and now after a look on the hotel website, I know. St Peter is the patron saint of quarries, apparently and because this site was once a quarry, someone dreamt up the name St Pierre.

People with longer memories than mine will remember a petrol station on this site and later a Volvo dealership.

In 1987 it became the Beverly Hills Pizzaria and bistro and in 1992 it opened as the Hotel St Pierre.

Hotel St Pierre joined the Best Western group in 2008. It’s a charming building. We hear Sunday roast dinners are highly regarded.

FACTFILE

Hotel St Pierre, 733 Barnsley Road, Newmillerdam

Wakefield

Rating: 3/5