Review: Draper's Hall, Shrewsbury

There is something intrinsically festive about Shrewsbury in winter.

It's no coincidence that George C Scott's version of A Christmas Carol was filmed in the town. Those black and white timber buildings which dot the centre just scream Yuletide.

One such building is the magnificent Draper's Hall, which can trace its history back to 1576. Its location, nestled in the shadow of the magnificent St Mary's Church, only adds to that feeling of Noel. Add some festive lights and you could quite easily be in the middle of a Hollywood producer's dream. Just add fake snow.

But inside, something a little less traditional is afoot. Over the summer the restaurant underwent a transformation with the old bar area turned into a modern tapas and cocktail restaurant, complete with Brazilian marble, glass mirrors, natural hide upholstery and traditional tables.

A relaxing lounge area was added along with new branding and new menus.

The tapas and cocktail bar was something patrons Nigel and Sharon Huxley had been wanting to do for a few years – a way of the restaurant reinventing itself in these times of austerity to attract new clientele and keep the regulars coming back for more. But not more of the same.

For those wanting to take the experience one step further, Draper's has also expanded the number of its boutique guest bedrooms to six this year and a seventh is currently undergoing transformation.

I have been wanting to try out the restaurant ever since its relaunch. But, as I have said, there is something about it which, to my mind at least, says "cosy winter's night". And so it was that I waited until my birthday to sample what Draper's had to offer.

Some people don't like being a child of December, but I don't mind. It's almost as though my birthday kicks off the festivities. People are looking for any excuse to go out in December. I am more than happy to provide one.

The timing of my visit couldn't have been better; Nigel had just recently returned to action after three months off with a broken leg.

But Draper's has not suffered in his absence thanks, in no small part, to the team he has built around him. Lee McCluskey, who has Shrewsbury restaurants Jesters and Rococo on his CV, was tasked with looking after front of house; Liam Hall had already joined as head bartender, while the kitchen was able to continue with the same consistency as always owing to the fact that chefs Chris Trudgon and Anthony Hill have worked with Nigel at Draper's for 14 and 12 years respectively.

Me being me, I left booking until the 11th hour. And it was here I experience the first taste of what would prove to be a masterclass in quality service – the kind of attention to detail and customer satisfaction that, had it been absent, I would probably not have missed. Its presence was more notable by that fact.

I rang the restaurant on a Sunday, hoping to book for the following Tuesday night. After a third attempt disproved the old adage about how many tries it takes to get lucky, I decided to see if Draper's was on that most modern of things – Twitter. It is, so I sent them a tweet asking why I couldn't get through. It turned out they were closed that evening so they could put the Christmas lights up. But no matter. They booked me in via social media even though they weren't open. Good start.

The time and effort put into arranging the festive illuminations was well spent. The exterior was a Hollywood producer's fantasy. Inside, subtle but suitably festive.

After being greeted warmly, it was to the bar for a pint of Shropshire Gold for me and a pre-dinner gin for my friend before retiring to a nearby table to discuss the menu.

And there were temptations galore. Seared scallops with pickled cucumber, chorizo, crème fraiche and a chilli dressing; beef with creamed potatoes or a fish platter consisting of scallops, trout, bass, clams, red mullet and mussels.

We discussed the options, but it was a long-standing agreement that when we visited Draper's it would be to try what was new, and that was the tapas. In the end, the delightful restaurant menu was not enough to steer us off this pre-plotted course.

Deciding five dishes should probably see us through – and having already been given complimentary olives to accompany our drinks, we selected baked camembert; tempura battered vegetables with chilli sauce and crème fraîche; whitebait with lemon mayonnaise; bruschetta with tomato and olive tapenade, and that must of all tapas experiences, cured meats with pickles.

However, other tempting options included a cocktail of crayfish; soused herrings with onion pickle; minted lamb kofta with greek yoghurt, and chargrilled chicken drumstick with soy and honey. My mate, who knows a lot more about these things than I, was left to select the wine. She opted for a Spanish rioja, which seemed entirely appropriate.

That choice made, we were presented with another. Would we like to retire to the stunning dining room, with its exposed wooden beams and wood-panelled walls, or stay where we were?

We decided we were settled and somehow it felt right eating tapas by the bar, so we stayed put.

Okay then. So would we like the dishes one at a time or all in one go? This is what I mean about those little touches. Had they done one, or the other, I wouldn't have noticed. I would have been happy. But the choice was there. The devil's in the detail.

I think tapas should be one of those "tuck in" experiences so we asked for it all in one go. Soon after our table was groaning under the weight of the feast in front of us. So much so there was no longer room for our bottle of wine. Could we have a wine bucket and stand in which to place it? Of course we could.

The spread was tremendous, particularly when it came to the accompanying sauces. The batter on the vegetables crisp, the chilli sauce had a perfect amount of bite. The lemon mayo had wonderful zing, the tapenade suitably earthy and just the right side of salty. The camembert came with a vast array of breads but even so, they were soon demolished. Any chance of any more, enquired my friend. Certainly. Any particular kind or another mix? Attention to detail.

Each of the main dishes was a joy. As with the vegetables, the batter on the whitebait spot on, even if a few of the salty fish had escaped the attentions of the frier.

The antipasto was everything you would expect, with a fine selection of meats including Parma ham and salamis accompanied by deliciously fruity pickles. The choice of wine came into its own when taken with this dish – its subtle fruits complementing the pickles, with a lovely, velvety-smooth aftertaste.

Five dishes proved more than enough. Our appetites so sated that there were a few morsels left – but only a few. We were certainly too well fed for dessert despite the temptation of stollen bread and butter pudding or chocolate fondant. Even the artisan cheeseboard couldn't sway us.

But this was a celebration. And there were dessert cocktails on the menu. One cocktail which has proved hugely popular is the mother-in-law cocktail which was designed to tie in with Katie Rink's book Managing MIL.

The gin-based drink, which we featured in Weekend, uses a combination of sweet and sour flavours and drinkers can sip from a sour side of the glass, wiped with bitter lemon, or a sweet side dipped – in a stroke of genius – in popping candy. My friend went for this option and allowed me a sip. It was delicious. I, however, went for the traditional Irish coffee.

As the evening drew to a close we enjoyed a couple more drinks. Although people, customers and staff alike, were heading home, there was no rushing us out of the door. We left just after midnight discussing how soon we would return.

Dave Burrows