I only ever drove past The Blundell Arms. It's very near where I live, so I drive past it a lot! It…read morejust looked like another pub, and not very popular, as I never saw anyone parked outside. But in recent times I noticed A-boards outside mentioning food, so after a long time of realising this, I decided to look online, and lo and behold, it's not just a pub that has "food available", but a full on food-centric pub! Hoorah!
When I drove there, I realised that the reason it looked so quiet and lacking in cars is because there's actually a sizeable car park BEHIND it, and that in turn is the entrance people tend to use to access it.
When I walked in, I was very pleasantly surprised, this pub was not only very expansive in side (perhaps not in terms of headroom in some of the older parts!) but was wonderfully traditional, with beautiful rustic beams running throughout, and many nods to its past as a court house, showing the old stone placard, and a window showing the traditional wattle and daub construction.
The other thing I noticed is that this was a very bright space. The winter sunshine truly cascades through the windows, giving a wonderfully comfortable feeling. This place had a 'good' feeling as soon as I entered.
I was greeted by a friendly staff member who took me to a table nestled amongst the rustic beams, where I was given the menus, and had chance to also peruse the lunch menu. The lunch menu was really good value, and I'd happily order from it, but in this instance I noticed on the main menu, amongst all the delicious traditional and classic pub food offerings, and "chef's inspired dishes" was a gourmet burger. So I opted for that!
I took the time waiting to have a look round at the rest of the place, which is where Ashleigh, the staff member, told me about the building's previous uses, and how pleasant the place looks at night with all the lights lighting up the corners of this old building.
When my burger arrived, I was quite pleased. The presentation was simple but that's all it needed to be, as it was a big burger, and a pot of triple-cooked chips. The chips were great, crispy on the outside and fluffy inside. The burger was tasty, but I wouldn't call it 'gourmet', as it was quite a standard burger, but grilled fully through rather than pink (due to health and safety demands usually), so it wasn't juicy, but was still tasty, regardless. The bacon on the burger was a bit fatty though, I had to pull strands of it off, but that's merely my personal preference. For the price, it was a good burger, and a tasty lunch. I'd certainly order it again.
All in all, I was pleased I came to The Blundell Arms! I didn't realise it was such a lovely building, and didn't realise they had such a large offering to eat, so I'll definitely be back to try some more of the menu, especially the dessert menu... there were a few things on there I very much liked the look of, but as the burger was so filling, I didn't quite have the room. Maybe next time I'll go for the lunch menu instead of my eyes being bigger than my belly!
Next time, Blundell.... NEXT TIME!!!
