Walnut Tree Shades // Food Review
You’ve got two honest-to-goodness spaces – the Bar and the upstairs Diner – to satisfy the mightiest of hungers right in the city centre.
THE GEN: There are a good handful of establishments in Norwich chasing the American dream; perhaps through the popularity of Man vs. Food, or the new trend of highly accessible food mixed with high brow drinks – think Fizz ‘n’ Chips at The Birdcage, or London’s Bubble Dog – a champagne and hot dog only eaterie. Back-to-basics food is on the up, especially with a Yankee stance, but the Walnut Tree Shades has been serving it up for years. With its greatest reputation being that of a standout music joint, it begs the question ‘If music be the food of love, could this place be the food of music?!’
ATMOSPHERE: The Walnut is top to toe American billboard posters, pictures and memorabilia, with the biggest names in American (predominantly) music staring down at you while you eat. We sat in the bar at lunchtime, but the bright gleam of the all-American diner gets opened in the evening, and is a great city-centre space.
THE MAIN EVENT: Texan Chilli Dog w / Fries / Classic Burger w/ Toppings and Potato Wedges I love a place where I get to orchestrate my own burger destiny – where toppings come listed in their plenty, and at a reasonable extra price already, even before you work in the 3-for-2 topping offer. The meat, I’m pleased to announce, is locally sourced, so you’ve got a good foundation, then my choices of jalapenos, mushrooms and cheese were happily loaded on good and thick. It’s worth pointing out it’s real cheese too! If you’re more of a fan of a Kraft slice, you may be perturbed, but I like a nice grating of the yellow stuff – call me an old fashioned gal. The chilli dog is always a meat lover’s sound choice, and with a veritable stream of jalapenos running the length of the huge dog, on top of the already warm chilli, I’m pleased to say the heat level is more of a punch than a tickle, and for me, that’s a good thing! The sausage was a traditional bratwurst weiner; there’s something unbeatable about the smokiness of a German weiner, that will give depth to yo’ dog. One note would be that for authentic munchable hot dogs, you need a soft, pillowy roll, rather than the robust baguette ours came in. The potato wedges were homemade, and each of them, roughly the size of a canoe. We wouldn’t go hungry today! And the dog was on the Lite Bites menu!
PUD: Peanut Butter Stack I had admitted defeat from the main course already, but got my arm twisted – OK, I was the one schizophrenically twisting my own arm – to try the Peanut Butter stack, which promised two layers of brownie, chocolate sauce and peanuts. It was like a chocolate fudge cake with BALLS! I could only manage a few mouthfuls, but they were good ones, the coupling of salt and sweet always a hard one to resist.
VALUE: Value is great at The Shades – I felt like I’d taken on a special Street Fighter opponent in Old Post Office Court called Carbo Meatfest and taken a battering by him too, but you can’t accuse the Walnut of robbing you. Big, burly men (or burly women) will rise to the challenge and smile doing it, as every pound worth of food is weightier than its price suggests.
OVERALL: With the Walnut simplifying its two menus soon, to include all the favourites available in the Bar area too, you’ve got two honest-to-goodness spaces – the Bar and the upstairs Diner – to satisfy the mightiest of hungers right in the city centre. The food lays its cards on the table as unpretentious and makes a great accompaniment to some of the best music in town.
