Jac had been craving a prawn cocktail, and so that’s what she ordered for her entree.:

Pattycakes had six oysters natural, which came with a dish of seafood cocktail sauce and a dish of lime and chilli dressing. The oysters were now you see them, now you don’t.

I couldn’t go to the Witch’s Cauldron and not have their famous garlic prawns! As we waited for our food, waiters kept walking past carrying out the sizzling dishes of prawns to other customers. The warm, garlicky smell made us all drool. I actually remembered to count the prawns this time (I’d meant to the last time I had them but I scoffed them down so eagerly I completely forgot to count) – 15 prawns in total (entree size). 15 plump, bursty prawns (actually, I ate 13, I gave Jac and her mum one each).

These prawns are GARLICKY. I could’ve ordered some bread to mop up that tasty garlicky oil, but I didn’t want to fill up on bread. I did eat most of the garlic chunks though.

For main course, Jac had the rare beef salad. The menu described the dish as “Roast beef on a salad of asparagus and English spinach with a seeded mustard dressing”. From that description Jac (well, all of us) thought it would be a salad with roast beef in it, but the salad came in its own bowl with balsamic dressing, the two asparagus spears sat separately on the side, and the seeded mustard dressing came served in its own little dish. Jac was pleased to see the beef was perfectly pink and rare. It had a jus drizzled over the top of it. As she started eating it she made an unexpected discovery: two potato croquettes, hidden under the beef! They were a very tasty surprise, flavoured with garlic and onion and (we think) a little cheese. Jac absolutely loved the beef salad – she said she would return to The Witch’s Cauldron specifically for this dish.

Pattycakes ordered the chilli squid (entree size), which had a light dusting of chilli and was served with rice and a chilli jam dipping sauce. She really enjoyed the dish, as squid is something she likes but doesn’t tend to cook herself.

I had been craving a caesar salad for weeks, and so I had the chicken caesar salad. The chicken was grilled breast, served warm on the salad. I’m usually disappointed when I have chicken breast – it’s usually overcooked and dry, but this was tender and moist and seasoned without overpowering the flavours of the caesar. My salad was delicious – just the right amount of dressing, not too dry, not too soggy. The garlic croutons were really crispy. The bacon lardons were great, not too small. I loooooooove shaved parmesan, and there was plenty of that. My only criticism of this dish was the inclusion of non-cos lettuce (you can see it in the foreground) as some sort of sad garnish. It was unnecessary and didn’t add to the taste or aesthetic appeal of the dish – in fact, it looked out of place and just plain crappy. But I’d happily eat this again, as it was very tasty.