Milsoms restaurant Dedham review at Christmas time

I visited Milsoms restaurant in Stratford Road, Dedham, to enjoy their menu this year.

For a special occasion, Milsoms feels like a treat but it can feel risky sometimes showing up as they don’t take bookings.

Festive: decorated trees at the entrance to the restaurant (Image: NQ)

Driving up to the restaurant, there are five red lit-up Christmas trees in the driveway and the plants at the front entrance have been draped in lights.

We arrived just after 6pm, stepping inside the restaurant decorated with classy but bold lights and baubles.

Front: outside the front door to the Milsoms restaurant and hotel (Image: NQ)

It is always busy, with a great atmosphere, and luckily my table of six was able to be seated on a spacious circular table in the centre of the restaurant.

For starter, I had the popular duck tacos. These cannot be missed when going to Milsoms in my opinion.

If you are a duck fan, these will make you want to return to Milsoms regularly. The ample portion size is three crispy tacos filled with succulent shredded duck.

Started: delicious duck tacos (Image: NQ)

It is served coated in hoi sin sauce, sprinkled with sesame seeds and dressed with mooli, cucumber and spring onion.

If I could eat these every day, I would.

For main I had the treacle cured Dingley Dell pork which is served with confit garlic mash, savoy cabbage, piccolo parsnips and apple and red wine jus.

Delicious: Dingley Dell pork main at Milsoms (Image: NQ)

Reading this description on the menu fed my recent MasterChef obsession and it tasted exactly how I imagined the professionals’ meals on the show to taste.

As with some high-end restaurants, I often have to sneak my phone out to google various items.

Personally, I wasn’t familiar with Dingley Dell Pork and was happy to see it is from a farm based in east Suffolk.

Lots of their beef is sourced from home too, including the ‘Big Milsoms’ burger which consists of two Dedham Vale beef patties.

Burger: the 'Big Milsoms' burger (Image: NQ)

All their steaks are also sourced from Dedham Vale and dry aged for a minimum of 28 days.

My main was incredible, the mash was perfection alongside the delicious pork and piccolo parsnips and the presentation of the dish was inviting.

I proudly cleared the plate but called it a day there and didn’t delve into their dessert menu.

Main: generous fresh fish and chips at Milsoms (Image: NQ)

They have a huge range of desserts though and I toyed with the idea of choosing the vanilla crème brulee with shortbread biscuit or the sticky toffee pudding with praline butter and Chantilly cream.

Overall, it is a great place to visit with friends or family as a treat and the festive decorations really added to the celebratory feel.

The staff are also very attentive and we weren't rushed with our meals or felt like we had to leave quickly for a new table to come in. 

Décor: inside Milsoms decorated for Christmas (Image: NQ)

The menu is on the pricier side but, for a rare treat, I would argue you definitely get your money's worth with the quality of the food. 

It is a very relaxed environment and there is no set dress code.

Diners around us were both dressy and casual and the website boasts how "you won’t look out of place in shorts and sandals or a shirt and tie – it’s that sort of place."