We often used to pop into The Malt Shovel in Great Barr in the afternoon because at £3.99 the carvery meals made it cheaper than going to McDonalds and definitely more wholesome.
There is a menu to choose from which I've never eaten from because I love the carveries, but have glanced at it to see that it's mainly traditional pub meals served with potatoes, chips or a jacket potato.
Most people visit The Malt Shovel for the carveries though and the queue for food is always quite long, this is great though in my opinion because it means that the food is replenished often and is always extremely fresh tasting.
You've got a brilliant selection of food for such a low price and I always walk back to my table slightly embarressed that I've piled so much onto my plate. You can choose from beef, turkey, gammon or all three (as I do!) and the meats are always beautifully cooked with the turkey in particular being deliciously moist and tender. You'll also be offered a large fluffy Yorkshire Pudding and crispy stuffing ball at this point - it would be rude to refuse, wouldn't it???
The veg available is wonderful, I love veg anyway so was pleased to see how fresh and well cooked it was here. There are buttery boiled new potatoes in their skins, crispy roasters, cauliflower cheese, green beans, sweetcorn, peas, carrots - oh, I could go on and on but you get the gist! The only thing I don't have is the cauli cheese and that's only because I cannot bear the thought of cheese melting into the gravy!
When I've picked all my food out I'll stop off at the servery to drench my plate in a thick moreish gravy and add a spoon of cranberry sauce and horseradish. Then I'm ready to go and sit down to eat! I have never, ever had cause to complain about a meal in The Malt Shovel and I believe it was the meals in this pub which kept me healthy while I was pregnant as me and my fella ate here practically every other day to save me having to cook.
Of course you'll want a drink to wash all that food down, and I can tell you that The Malt Shovel has an excellent range of everything from lager to spirits to soft drinks and coffees. I usually have a glass of wine or fruit juice with my meal as there would be no way I could drink such a bloating drink as lager or Coke with such a heavy dinner.
The staff in The Malt Shovel are great; friendly, helpful and always polite. I had to ask for our table to be cleared after the previous occupants once and although I was embarrassed about complaining I was put at my ease and the table cleared and cleaned with no moaning or dirty looks at all! A novelty in pubs in this area! read more