Restaurant Review: The Bridge on Third

A couple of weeks ago we visited The Bridge on Third in Old Town Temecula. I had been wanting to visit this "modern English pub" since it opened up about a year ago. We finally stopped in on a Sunday evening. The outside patio was pretty busy and there was a live band playing cover songs. The inside of the pub was somewhat empty and had a nice laid back atmosphere. They have a decent selection of both British and non, beers as well as a full bar. The menu is uncomplicated and offers traditional British fare along with some extras.

We decided to start off our meal with Parkers' Pretzel Balls. These warm rounds of soft, buttery, salty dough are served alongside some Newcastle Brown Ale Cheese Sauce and a Sculpin Mustard. The cheese was meh, but the mustard is the bees knees. This stuff is sooo good and I am usually not one who raves over mustard's of any kind. I am getting hungry thinking about dunking these pretzel balls in this mustard. You must order this on your visit.

Chris decided to order the Steak and Mushroom Pie for his entree. The crust on this pie is flaky and buttery while the inside is filled with steak, mushrooms, potatoes, peas and carrots swimming in a Guiness gravy. You also get a ladle of gravy on the side as well as a salad. We both thought the pieces of steak inside the pie were a bit chewy. I was not a huge fan of the gravy either, however Chris thought it was pretty tasty.

I decided to order the King Fish and Chips which comes with a side of mushy peas and tartar sauce, ketchup and malt vinegar for dipping. I thought their ketchup was pretty tasty. Different than your typical red ketchup,maybe a British ketchup? The tartar sauce was nice and dill-y and not sweet. If there is one thing I can not stand it is sweet tartar sauce. I was pretty excited about trying the mushy peas because several years ago when Chris was in England he mentioned trying them. He thought they were pretty bad however these mushy peas were quite tasty. He said they were different than the ones he has tasted in England, maybe he just had a bad batch over there. You get 2 pieces of fish on top of a heaping of "proper"chips. One baby piece of cod and one daddy piece. The batter is crispy and has good flavor. The inside of the fish is flaky and cooked perfectly. The chips on the other hand tasted a little stale and needed some salt. There was none on the table and I didn't feel right asking for some.

I thought this place was pretty good but not the first place I would pick to go back to. I take that back, I need some more of those pretzel balls and mustard. I am also curious about the Edna's Shepherds Pie and Bangers and Mash, so who knows...

The Bridge on Third
41915 Third St.
Temecula, CA 92590