Woody’s Bar, Ancaster

This month we headed south of the county to Ancaster to visit Woody’s Bar & Lakeview Restaurant.
Situated on Woodland Waters Holiday Park, Woody’s Bar & Lakeview Restaurant offers the perfect place to relax after a day’s fishing on the park’s five fishing lakes. Although when we arrived it was raining outside (perfect fishing weather, I’m told) we got chance to have a look at the campsite and facilities as we drove round to the restaurant. The log cabins are ideally situated near the entrance and each sits on its own plot of land, ensuring guests can have all the privacy they want whilst on holiday.

When you enter Woody’s Bar & Lakeside Restaurant you find yourself in the main bar area, which has the feel of a luxury chalet (if it was snowing, you could easily imagine you were in a ski chalet). We were greeted by the lady behind the bar, who promptly offered us some drinks before we were taken through to the restaurant and shown the menu.

As we usually have fish on a Friday, I was looking through the menu for something that would whet my appetite, but unfortunately the fish was not available. They did have whitebait as a starter, and being one of my favourite starters, I was happy to have this. I was quite surprised the whitebait was quite large and served with a lovely tartare sauce. My guest, Angelo, chose the mushroom topped with goat’s cheese on a bed of salad. Other choices included French Brie tartlet, hot from the oven served with salad leaves and warm cranberry sauce, smoked Scottish salmon served with fresh lemon, brown bread and butter, Soup of the Day served with a warm bread roll and butter, or New Zealand Greenshell Mussels cooked in a white wine, garlic, leek and red onion cream sauce.

I was still feeling quite peckish after our starters, so was pleased to see our mains arrive promptly. I chose pork served with cabbage and Parmentier potatoes. The cabbage accompaniment was beautiful; in a creamy bacon sauce, it melted in my mouth and was very moreish. The pork was cooked beautifully and the fat had a lovely, crispy texture. Angelo opted for the duck which was also served on a bed of cabbage and served with boulangère potatoes. The duck was cooked perfectly pink (just the way duck should be).

As well as the restaurant menu there are also bar snacks – including burgers and fish and chips – and a Classics menu, on which you will find choices such as ham, egg and chips, and lasagna. During the week they also offer a senior citizens’ lunch menu.

Although we had both thoroughly enjoyed our mains, I have a sweet tooth and so we decided to peruse the dessert menu for a while, before making our choices. Although the weather left a lot to be desired, it was lovely to look out towards the lakes and watch the wildlife. For a Friday, the park seemed very quiet, although most of the chalets appeared to be occupied, and plenty of caravans were pitched up.

When we finally made our choices for dessert, I opted for the Irish cream cheesecake which was beautifully creamy while Angelo chose the treacle sponge with ice cream (which had been recommended by our waitress). He also managed to polish off his plate.

Sometimes I do think to myself after doing a review, would I actually recommend this to someone else? And whilst it would be a bit far to travel just for dinner, I would highly recommend the holiday park for a staycation, and having a meal at Woody’s would be a must-do whilst there.

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