The Market House, Saffron Walden

A new pub located just off the attractive Market Square, the friendly landlord informed us that has been open for about six weeks. It consists of a couple of rooms one behind the other, as well as a patio area at the rear, and does I suppose, have more of a wine bar feel to it than your traditional pub. Food is apparently offered and I got the impression it was mostly tapas style, although the chef was unfortunately off sick when we visited. Internally it’s a good mix of old and new, with a largely contemporary feel to it, but plenty of old timberwork has been retained that give a hint of the building’s age. The front bar was the smaller of the two and this housed the bar counter that was topped off with copper coins under a sheet of glass, and there was a disused brick chimney breast that ironically contained only a fire extinguisher. Large windows to the street at the front made it feel light and airy. The flooring was some sort of wood strip with the walls being predominantly whitewashed plasterwork, although there was also some roughly sawn wood cladding in places and some exposed brickwork. The rear room was broadly similar in terms of décor, with wooden bench seating around the perimeter. Lighting was naturally exposed filament light bulbs, which are of course de rigour in any pub renovation these days. The solitary beer on tap was Adnams Ghost Ship, whilst the cider was Orchard Thieves. Overall, whilst this hasn’t really got much to entice the true pub aficionado, I thought it was a decent enough pit stop and would happy to pop by again if in the area.

Official site of The Market House - www.themarket-house.co.uk

Official site of The Market House - www.themarket-house.co.uk