If you’re looking for a tasty spot of food in Wakefield then The Castle may very well be your answer. Having undergone a recent refurb, the premium bar and restaurant, located in the heart of Wakefield, boasts a brand-new look of a stylish and contemporary feel.
Seasonal menus can be enjoyed throughout the year. Whether you find comfort by their crackling fires in the winter, or a summer picnic in the garden patio.
The Castle’s menu is fulfilling, with plenty of dishes and cuisines to choose from, including a solid vegan menu.
To enjoy our meal, we choose to sit where I would refer to as the posh living room.
A dark, rich styled room, with deep coloured walls, floating book shelf, photo frames, a central fire with a golden mirror above the mantelpiece.
Starters
We tasted our way through the menu, picking a selection of starters to share. The wild scallops and caramelised goats’ cheese were the highlights.
Paired with the scallops came a cauliflower duo – spiced tempura and purée, and the cheese was delicately balanced with roasted pear, chopped hazelnuts, chicory and balsamic glaze. 
Alongside our highlights, we also tried their lightly battered salt and pepper squid with aioli and their deep-fried brie with sloe gin chutney.
Taste wise, also good choices, although cutting into the panko coating of the brie, the cheese ration was a little underwhelming.
Mains
We continued our feast into the main meal and opted for meaty dishes. Nothing unusual then, eh!
When you’ve got your favourite meat paired with chorizo, butternut purée, roasted shallots, cavolo nero, dauphinoise potatoes, chimmi churri and red wine jus – surely it would just be rude not to choose a rack of lamb, right?
Proclaiming the winning combination between the chimmi churri red wine jus with the lamb, Nathan was sure to not leave only single drop on the plate.
Being the little piggy I am, I clocked the maple pork belly and pig cheek, and even had my arm twisted to upgrade to even more scallops.
The meat was served on a creamy splodge of dijon chive mash with cavolo nero and a several strands of crispy prosciutto to garnish; plus a pot of red wine and sage jus for good measure.
What a feast I had before me, and how glad I was for this dish.
Slow cooked and tender pork belly, and a pig cheek that with a single knife blade fell apart. On hindsight, the scallops felt a little random with the core duo of meats, put was a fantastic companion with the prosciutto.
Desserts
Finishing on a sweet treat, we worked our way through a trio of desserts – from a classic caramel crème brûlée, to a wintery apple and damson crumble, and a fulfilling blueberry and almond polenta cake. Both the crumble and polenta cake are available as vegan alternatives too.
The Castle really gave us a menu to indulge in and enjoy great quality ingredients.
And whilst I really enjoy a real plate full, quality and complementary flavours are key – a balance that I feel this menu really hones in on at a really affordable price too.
Have you visited The Castle before or keen to try it out? For more food inspiration, head over here.
Charlotte xox
PS. Thank you to The Castle for their invite to review the menu after the refurb. All views and opinions are my own.
Charlotte Corner
Lifestyle blogger & cat mother
