The Halfway House is a family business established for over thirty years. The emphasis is on great food, value for money and a warm friendly welcome. The Halfway House is one of the most versatile venues in Essex, offering services for:
Weddings
Christenings
Birthday Celebrations
18th and 21st parties
Anniversaries
Retirement Parties
Funeral & Memorial Gatherings
School Proms
Charity Fundraising Dinners
Annual Dinners
Conferences
Seminars
Exhibitions
Wedding Fairs
Forthcoming Events
St Patrick's Day
Mother's Day
the halfway house - our new bistro menu
Starters
Chefs Homemade Soup served with crusty bread
£3.25
Breaded Brie served with a cranberry preserve V
£3.95
Prawn Cocktail - atlantic prawns in our own marie rose sauce served with fresh brown bread
£3.95
Flat Mushrooms topped with avocado, bacon & dolcelatte cheese sauce
£4.35
Large Freshwater Kings Prawns cooked in white wine, a touch of garlic, chilli, tomato & fresh basil
£6.95
Pan Fried Scallops, pancetta & rocket
£6.25
Main Course
Chicken Breast served in a cream, mushroom & white wine sauce with sauté potatoes
£8.95
Calf's Liver served with bacon, onions, white wine & sage with mash potato
£13.95
Slow Roasted Lamb Shank served with a rosemary jus and mash potato
£13.95
Home Breaded Chicken Breast filled with mushrooms, freshly chopped tomatoes & baby spinach served with roasted potatoes and a garlic butter sauce
£9.50
Lincolnshire Duck Breast glazed with ginger & honey and served with hoi sin sauce and Lyonnais potatoes
£12.50
Beef & Ale Pudding served with mash or chips
£9.50
Barbeque Pork Ribs served with chunky chips and a buttered corn
£10
.95
Goat Cheese Tartlet with spinach mushrooms & pine nuts V
£6.95
Prime Beef Stir-Fry with Oriental Noodles Fry with Oriental Noodles
£9.95
Grill
10oz Prime Scottish Fillet Steak
£18.95
10oz Prime Scottish Rump Steak
£11.95
14oz Prime Scottish Sirloin Steak
£13.95
All steaks served with sauté potatoes
Add a Sauce
£1.50
Green Peppercorn Or Forest Mushroom & Red Wine
Chefs seasonal vegetables…
£2.50
Mixed Salad
£2.50
Potatoes
£2.50
Fish
Line Caught Tuna Steak served with sweet chilli mixed vegetable salsa and new potatoes
£10.95
Whole Wild Seabass served with a fresh tomato & basil sauce with rock salt & garlic sautéed potatoes
£12.95
Fresh Salmon Fillet topped with prawns and a tangy salsa served on a bed of spinach soufflé
£10.95
Large Freshwater King Prawns with white wine, garlic, chilli, tomato & served with seasoned rice
£13.95
Fresh Scampi pan fried with paprika & lemongrass served with chunky chips and minted peas
£8.95
Fishermans Pie - cod, prawns, salmon, smoked haddock & mussels, topped with cheesy mash
£9.95
Salad
Winter Salad of Home Cooked Honey Glazed Gammon & Beetroot
Choose between a 10oz or 14oz succulent steak, served with chips salad garnish & grilled tomato
Add a sauce: Green Peppercorn or Mushroom & Red wine All £1.50
Homemade Ham & Mushroom Tortelloni Starter: £4.25 main: £7.50
in a light tomato & mascarpone sauce
Winter Salad of Home Cooked Honey Glazed Gammon & Beetroot
£6.95
Mixed leaves and new potatoes
Homemade Beef Ale & Vegetable Pudding
£9.50
Scottish Beef and Root Vegetables cooked in a rich Ale Gravy encased in a light Suet Pastry and served with Fresh Vegetables and Chunky Chips or Mash
Home Cooked Honey Roasted Ham & Eggs
£6.95
Delicious Honey roasted Gammon sliced and Served with two free range Eggs and Chips (Add Mushroom or Grilled Tomato, £1.00)
Vegetarian Main Courses
Goat Cheese Tartlet V
£6.95
with Spinach, Mushrooms & Pine Nuts in a Filo pastry Case
Tagliatelle V
£6.95
In a creamy roasted leek, walnut & rocket sauce
the halfway house - our new set menu
STARTERS
Chef’s Homemade Soup of the day Served with fresh crusty Bread
Prawn Cocktail Atlantic Prawns in our own recipe Marie Rose Sauce served with Brown Bread
Thai Fish Cakes A blend of the finest Thai spices and Scottish Salmon, coated in golden breadcrumbs, deep fried and served with a cucumber mayonnaise
Crispy Potato Skins Topped with either Cheese & Bacon or Cheese & Tomato V
MAIN COURSE Beer Battered Smoked Haddock Served with Chunky Chips & Tartare Sauce
Home made Beef & Ale Pudding Scottish Beef cooked in a rich Ale Gravy encased in a light Suet Pastry and served with mash or chips
10oz Rump Steak Cooked to your liking and served with Chips and grilled tomato
Home Breaded Chicken Breast Filled with mushrooms, freshly chopped tomatoes & baby spinach served with roasted potatoes and a garlic butter sauce
Seafood Risotto King prawns, salmon, mussels, squid & saffron
Tagliatelle V In a creamy roasted leek, walnut & rocket sauce V
DESSERTS Bread & Butter Pudding Served with Creamy Custard or Cream Homemade Apple Pie or Crumble Served with Creamy Custard or Cream Chocolate Fudge Cake Served with Cream or Ice Cream
£19.95
the halfway house - local entertainment
Thre is always a lot going on in the area. Brentwood has its own theatre, plus the regular entertainment events on at the Brentwood Centre mean that there is usually something on to suit every taste.
If you prefer a more intimate venue, our sister house, the Belvedere in Billericay is very close, and has regular blues, jazz and comedy nights as well as the regular dinner discos and over-30’s clubs. The Belvedere is also one of the area’s hot-spots for learning latin dance.
If shopping is your bag, then Lakeside and Bluewater shopping centres are just a short run down the M25 from here. With miles of shops to browse, you are bound to work up a good appetite for our restaurant and bars while you rest your weary feet in comfortable surroundings.
the halfway house - local history
Seat of the Peasants’ Revolt
In 1381, the British peasantry had got just about sick of their lot. Richard 11’s poll tax was the final straw and Wat Tyler led a rebellion from Brentwood against the crown.
It all ended when the Mayor of London killed Tyler on behalf of the king. If any parts of this story sound familiar...
Excommunicate the King?
Events here in 1232 nearly led to the excommunication of King Henry 111. The King, it seems, violated the sanctuary of the Thomas a Beckett chapel in Brentwood in pursuit of Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent who had been accused of treason by the bishop of Winchester.
In comparison, it is fairly quiet in Brentwood now.
The area around the Halfway House is part of an ancient wood, now the remains of which are mostly given over to the Thorndon Country Park, which backs onto the pub gardens.
Neigthbouring Hartswood was once owned by John Evelyn, who was inspired by it to write the first ever book on forestry ’Sylva’ in 1664. The fact that you can now get a refreshing glass of 1664 over the counter may just be a coincidence, but it gives you something to ponder.
The 8th Lord Petre, a former owner of Thorndon hall was a pioneering gardener, laying out very elaborate surroundings in the late 16th century that even included a small zoo! Well ahead of his time.
These days the park is available for all to enjoy. There are many recommended walks through the country park to relax and work up a hunger and thirst to be sated in the welcoming restaurant and bar of the Halfway House at the end of your ramble.
the halfway house - opening hours and accommodation
Opening Hours
Day
Open
Close
Mon-Sat
11:00am
11:00pm
Sunday
12:00midday
10:30pm
Food Serving Hours
Mon-Fri
12:00am
3:00pm
Mon-Fri
6:30pm
10:00pm
Saturday
12:00midday
10:00pm
Sunday
12:00midday
9:00pm
Late licence available by prior arrangement
Although we have no accommodation at the Halfway House, we do have arrangements with carefully selected local hotels and can recommend the following places to stay after your wedding, conference or party:
The Travel Lodge 08700 850 950 Adjacent to The Halfway House
Holiday Inn 0870 400903 3-4 Miles fom The Halfway House
Campanile 01268 530810 1-2 Miles from The Halfway House
The Quays 08707 001376 3-4 Miles from The Halfway House
Travel Inn 01268 522227 5-6 Miles from The Halfway House
the halfway house - halfway house in literature
It may not be the same Halfway House, as the book, film and author were all American, but the name is mentioned, as is the town of Brentwood in the 1946 film of Ernest Hemingway’s ’The Killers’:
Dum Dum and Blinky arrive at Farmer Brown’s (Charles B. Middleton) farm house to split up the unmarked cash with Colfax. However, the Swede, thinking that he has been betrayed and double-crossed [through information from Kitty - to be revealed later], creeps up on the group, holds them at gunpoint, and runs off with the quarter of a million dollars:
Swede: Swell idea you guys had. Leave me holdin’ the bag at the half-way house while you split up the dough, huh?... Colfax: The half-way house burnt down last night. That’s why we came here. Swede: Somebody ought to have let me know. Colfax: You were told, you’re here. Swede: Next time, play it straight.
[Colfax’s alibi that the half-way house burnt down is conveniently interjected, but the plan to betray the Swede - and change locations - had been made much earlier with Kitty.] As the Swede leaves, he flattens the gang’s car tires so they can’t pursue him.
Reardon follows a hunch to discover who shot Blinky, by visiting Brentwood and staking out the Swede’s room. As predicted, Dum Dum arrives in town to rent the vacant room for $9/week. From the adjacent room, Reardon listens as Dum Dum searches the room and splits open the mattress looking for the Swede’s stolen payroll money. Reardon bursts in with his gun drawn, asking for information to clarify what happened:
You don’t know what the Swede did with the money or you wouldn’t be here tearing his room to pieces. But maybe you do know things that put together with the things I know will tell me where the money is.
Reardon asks why the gang met at the farmhouse instead of the half-way house as originally planned. [A fire report later states that the half-way house burned down at 2:53 am, almost three hours after Kitty began telling gang members of the change in rendezvous.] According to Dum Dum, boss Colfax picked the new location, and Kitty delivered the news of the change in plans to gang members in various hideouts. Reardon deduces that Dum Dum and Blinky couldn’t be suspects in the Swede’s murder (because they believed only the Swede knew where the payroll money was), but Dum Dum undoubtedly killed competitor Blinky to get to the Swede’s money first.
After a brief struggle, the tables are reversed and Dum Dum holds the gun on Reardon and asks a question of his own: ’Why’d you want to know about Kitty?’ Reardon speculates that Kitty stole the money back from the Swede and returned to Colfax. The Swede never had his hands on the dough for very long:
I think she knows where the money is...The Swede and some girl checked into an Atlantic City hotel the night of the holdup. Two days later, the girl took a powder. I’ve got an idea the dough went with her.
Dum Dum viciously kicks Reardon in the head, rendering him unconscious, and flees out the boarding room window onto the roof, where he is confronted by police that Reardon had earlier summoned to surround the building. But he eventually escapes, although wounded, after a brief gun battle.
[This is a crucial turning point. Until now, Dum Dum thought the Swede acted alone in stealing the payroll. However, after learning that Kitty was involved in the robbery, and knowing that Colfax and Kitty were married, he would now realize that Kitty and Colfax were accomplices. Dum Dum’s next target will be Colfax!]
Reardon travels by train to Pittsburgh with Lieut. Lubinsky to speak to Big Jim Colfax [reportedly ’Kitty’s ex-boyfriend’ but actually her husband], the gang leader who planned the hat factory heist. Apparently, Colfax has ’gone legit’ as a big-time contractor and builder. In Colfax’s office, Reardon questions the ex-gangster about the death of Ole Andersen (’alias Pete Lunn but best known as the Swede’), but Colfax claims no knowledge of the man, and asserts his honesty as a citizen (’I’ve got nothing to hide’). ’Without one shred of evidence’ against Colfax, Reardon reasons that he must speak to Kitty Collins to glean the last piece of the puzzle:
...it was Kitty Collins and not the Swede that reaped the golden harvest...When the gang met to divvy up after the robbery, the Swede pulled a fast one and walked off with the whole take...That same night, he and Kitty were together in Atlantic City. She walked out on him a couple of days later. The money disappeared when she did...
Colfax lies about not knowing Kitty’s whereabouts. [In the setup planned by Colfax against the Swede, Kitty’s duplicity wasn’t known by the other gang members. They would assume that Ole had all of the money, allowing Kitty to rejoin Colfax with the re-stolen money so the couple could re-establish their married life without fear of reprisal or detection.]
If there’s one thing I hate, it’s a double-crossing dame...the Swede never had a chance, did he? Any one of the gang that ran onto him would have been sure to knock him off. You might say Kitty Collins signed his death warrant.
Although unlikely after six years, Reardon claims that the chambermaid in the Atlantic City hotel could identify Kitty. He threatens to take his information to the police, unless he can speak to Kitty (through a message delivered by ’voice from the past’ Jake the Rake). Fearing that he and Kitty will be exposed, Colfax further deceives Reardon about his relationship with the femme fatale:
If you do run onto her, let me know, will ya? After you’re through with her, I’d like to have a word or two with Kitty myself. We got some unfinished business.
the halfway house - sports and leisure
For the energetic visitor, Brentwood has a multitude of attractions. You can walk, cycle or ride horseback in the adjoining Thorndon Country Park, and just a little way up the road is the challenging terrain of the South Weald Country Park where some of the 2012 Olympic mountain biking events will be staged.
Golf Venues There is no shortage of places to play the ancient game of golf around Brentwood.
Thorndon Park Golf Club, 01277 811666
Bentley Golf Club, 01277 373179
Weald Park Hotel, Golf and Country Club
Brentwood Centre offers a full range of indoor and outdoor sporting facilities, such as all-weather football pitches, volleyball, basketball, badminton, squash, tennis and a fully-equipped gymnasium as well as a swimming pool.
For more information on what to do in Brentwood, please contact us prior to your visit and we will be delighted to recommend some venues and options.
