I'd no idea this pub place served food. There's a small bistro menu at the front door. It also has accommodation. I'd been at the Church bistro just down the street a few weeks ago; I was so disappointed I won't go back.
Anyway this place was packed with diners & barflies. We were a group of four ready to eat. There was a fantastic atmosphere within. I saw they sold local real ale which was so good. Now that's 5 star alone. We got menus as we sat and we got our first drinks at the bar on arrival. I had prawn pil pil starter with focaccia bread on the side. It was a tasty dish and a good portion (£7) but with far eastern warm water prawns.
These are nowhere near as tasty as cold water North Atlantic prawns so 3 star after all the Atlantic is on our doorstep and cold water prawns will improve flavour immensely. The focaccia was wonderfully open textured (as soda bread should be) and 5 star; really worth getting here. I usually don't eat focaccia in the UK (or soda bread) as it's rarely open textured and usually made doughy like cheap white bread, so if its not open textured it ain't proper focaccia.
Next I had the steak sandwich (£16) with wonderful 5 star meat, cooked as I asked, with Colman's the worlds best mustard, tasty tomatoes, great chips but awful factory made onion rings, no stars, and a poor 2 star peppercorn sauce. I mean it doesn't make sense to me. How can it be so very, very good with great meat and real ale only to undermine itself with the easiest prepared food. 1 or 2 proper onion rings are so tasty, cheap & easy. They sell battered fish so they've all the ingredients: what's the problem. Also peppercorn sauce is easy to improve and once done it's done.
At £16 the sauce and onion rings must be better. They were out of pavlova so I'd a very good 5 star dessert of chocolate fondant with wonderful ice cream (£6). The service was superb and we didn't have to wait long for drinks. Our biggest surprise was the entertainment. We'd finished our meal when a group began and the place just switched from a bistro to a great vibe music venue. It was already packed; numbers swelled and it was still buzzing. I'd expected to be home around 11pm. Nope it was a few hours more with great entertainment between eating & sleeping.
While it has many 5 star qualities it's 3 stars from me, the prawns, peppercorn sauce and truly awful pre-frozen factory onion rings really have no place in 21st century quality restaurants. read more