Sunday Lunch at The Old Weighing Room, Doncaster

I've been wanting to try this restaurant ever since we moved to Yorkshire. (Just ask my husband - he'll tell you how long I've been going on about it.) It's called The Old Weighing Room and it's located within the grounds of Doncaster race course. The building dates back to the 1920s and used to be where the jockeys were weighed back in the day, just before the start of a race. Now, it's a bar and restaurant, and I've been excited to try it because I love places that are architecturally unusual or have some history to them.

You approach from the race course car park, and at first glance it's quite an unassuming place.

Skirt, Jacket - Topshop, T-shirt, Sunglasses - River Island, Shoes, Necklace - H&M, Bag - Zara

Walk around the side of the building, and you come across the entrance to this rather lovely bar - something of a surprise after the less than spectacular exterior. It's the perfect place to spend a few minutes perusing the menu while sipping a nice chilled glass of rose. 

And as if this wasn't lovely enough, the bar opens out onto a wide terrace with a perfect view of the race course. There were no races on when we visited, sadly, but I'd love to come back and eat here when there are. Imagine how exciting that would be!

They even have the old weighing scales here, which certainly provide a talking point. And yes, I did weigh myself... before lunch rather than after!

In fact, it was such an interesting place to look round that we were taken by surprise when we were called through to our table. I think we'd all forgotten we'd gone there to eat!

For my first course, I chose the cod fish cake with lemon and dill. I was slightly worried it might be heavy, which was the last thing I wanted before a roast dinner, but it was actually very delicate and perfectly balanced by the tomato fondant that accompanied it. I really loved this dish, and considering that I don't like either dill or tartar sauce that's quite impressive. (Looking back it makes me wonder why I ordered it in the first place, but I'm very glad I did!)

For the main event I went through a somewhat agonising decision making process. I always find it really hard to choose between the roast meats - I love them all and their respective trimmings equally! Finally, I decided to go for the roast sirloin of beef with Yorkshire pudding and red wine gravy.

Now this was very tasty, don't get me wrong, but I'd be lying if I said it was the best roast dinner I've ever eaten. In fact, that honour belongs to the nearby Angel Inn at Misson, a village on the outskirts of Doncaster, who used to do an unbelievable roast. (They may well still do, but I haven't been since it recently changed hands, so I couldn't swear to it right now.) This one was more what you would expect from a typical pub roast. It was enjoyable, but the beef was a little tough and the Yorkshire pudding slightly overdone. I'd expected more from a restaurant like this, so I must confess I was a little disappointed.

Not to be deterred, however, I moved on to dessert with an open mind. I went for the peanut butter cheesecake, served with peanut brittle and a chocolate and peanut butter cup.

I'm happy to say that this was delicious. The peanut brittle in particular was just divine and I ate every last bit. A major hazard for my teeth I'm sure but it was too good to leave!

It's a strange feeling when you've loved everything about a restaurant except the main course. There was general agreement among my dining companions that the roast dinners left a little something to be desired. However, as everything else was so enjoyable, including the rest of the food, I'm pretty sure I'll be going back. I'm curious to try the evening menu, to see how that compares with the Sunday lunch offerings.

Has anybody eaten at The Old Weighing Room? And what's your favourite roast? Non-UK readers, do you have a traditional Sunday meal in your country? Educate me!

Kate x