The Shire Horse, Stafford 2013

The Shire Horse, Stafford
(Pub Food)
Friday // 19:30

Reviewer: Drew

The Shire Horse

1 Hurricane Close

Stafford

Staffordshire

ST16 1GZ

A member of the Chef & Brewer line, the Shire Horse is a short distance from Junction 14 of the M6. Built in 2002 it was designed to have all the old world pub charm, with several log fires and many rustic open beams. With an ample sized beer garden, it’s charm remains even in the heat of summer.





Restaurant: 79/100

Service: 27/30

The extremely friendly and bubbly staff were very attentive, coming to check we were happy with every course. Every time one of our drinks was down to a quarter full, they’d be over asking if we wanted any more. All staff presented a good working knowledge of the menu, only downside is we were originally given the wrong menu (but it was quickly rectified when we asked about it)

Decor: 15/20

Very nice oaken beams, and little oddities on the wall all adding up to a very charming old world pub feel. The venue had a very high standard of cleanliness. The main downsides were that where we were didn’t feel open and spacious, and the noise level was bit on the loud side - but we did have the last available seat in the pub, so they were very busy at the time.

Drinks: 18/20

Large selection of all the usual suspects you’d expect in a pub, but with the addition of a large wine list, local breweries on tap, a selection of non-alcoholic drinks, a coffee machine and a selection of herbal teas. Hard to find any real fault, only really lacking in mocktails.

Value for Money: 12/20

As another chain pub, there were plenty of special offers to be had to help bring down it’s higher than average price. Mid week you can get 3 courses for under £15, but even on a friday I got the deal of 3 courses for £17.95. However, it is still on the higher scale of the pricing spectrum, and without the deal would hit £20+.

Menu Selection: 7/10

All the burgers and steaks and usual pub favourites were accounted for, and several vegetarian options were available. With WIld boar, Pheasant, and Venison on the menu, there we some real delights to be found. No specific mentions of where the food was sourced from, however, and could have been more vegetarian friendly on the starters menu.





Starter: 64/100
Bubble and Squeak, with poached egg, crispy bacon, and hollandaise sauce (£3.79)

Taste: 18/30

Very enjoyable, the egg was poached perfectly, and the bacon was crisp without being overdone. There were however a couple of downsides. The Hollandaise was a little too thin and swamped the dish, overcoming some of the other flavours. Also potato cake was underseasoned and a touch undercooked for my taste, leaving it no real firmness.

Presentation: 13/25

Far too much sauce made the plate look a little sloppy, however the food was neatly stacked and the plate was nice and warm.

Wait Time: 19/25

From the moment of ordering it took 16 minutes to arrive, which is well within the bounds of acceptable.

Portion Size: 14/20

This dish was very filling, and more than ample for one person, with a good sizeable helping of potato cake for a base.





Main Course: 55/100
Wild boar, pork apple & sausage burger, with american mustard. (£11.49)

Taste: 14/30

Let’s go with the good first, shall we ? The onions rings were beautifully crisp and perfectly cooked. The chips with crisp but still fluffy inside, but could have done with a few more seconds in my opinion. The bun was lightly toasted with the cheese melted onto it’s roof, and the apple chutney was delicious. The downside ? The strength of the chutney completely and utterly overpowered the meat. Honestly, I could have been eating a veggie burger for all I was aware of it’s presence. Lets face it, the wild boar meat was the draw of this dish - when you can’t taste it, what’s the point ?

Presentation: 12/25

Neat and well presented on the wooden board and separated into its elements, leaving the top bun off to present it is a nice touch. Marked down because of the mustard spray around the sauce dish, and the burger construction was lacking - due the the rings of the sausage, half the meat fell out the side of the burger in the first bite, and this happend to both me and my fellow diner, so was clearly a flaw in the construction.

Wait Time: 15/25

The dish arrived 19 minutes after ordering, which is still slightly above average.

Portion Size: 14/20

Very filling, was absolutely stuffed after it. Plenty of sausage for your money and an ample side of chips, it was a good size portion for an adult.





Dessert: 87/100

Hot Chocolate Fudge Cake w/o ice cream  (£4.79)

Taste: 27/30

Now, this fine specimen of a cake was de-freaking-licious. Smooth chocolate and fudge was oozing out of it. It was hot and moist all the way through, and was frankly the finest fudge cake I have ever had the pleasure of devouring. And believe me - I devoured it. I was half a thought away from licking the plate.

Presentation: 21/25

The dash of extra fudge was a very nice addition to the presentation of the dish, and the sprinkle of the top added a bit of colour to bring the two elements together. The small jug of cream was given along with an explanation (I asked for it without), that they gave me a jug of it just in case I change my mind, but it did add an eye pleasing third article to the plate.

Wait Time: 24/25

Arrived in 9 minutes, which is a nearly flawless response.

Portion Size: 15/20

The slice of cake was huge! Of course, I didn’t let that dissuade me - the taste was so good it was gone in the blink of an eye. It left me feeling stuffed and satisfied afterwards.





Overall Score: 285/400 (71%)

A very good meal in a fine establishment. The main factor letting it down was the main course, which in some ways was very lacking. I would certainly come back again, if only for more of that fudge cake!

The George, Bathampton

The George, Bathampton
(Pub Food)
Saturday // 1:00pm

Reviewer: Em

The George

Mill Lane,

Bathampton

BA2 6TR

The George started off as a monastery in the 13th Century, established by the Prior of Bath - I have been reliably informed by wait staff in the past that there are tunnels that run underneath the nearby road to the church across the way, that the priests used to sneak down to exchange barrels of beer without the higher ups knowing about it. It’s changed several hands in the last few years and is currently owned by the Chef and Brewer chain. It boasts a small beer garden that’s south facing for as much sun as you can get in England, and just for added touches of the Cotswolds, the canal runs along side this, with a dock for passing holidaymakers and folk who live on the river to pull up and enjoy a beer or a meal. It’s a joy in summer - in winter, picturesque enough, but lacking the benefit of its outdoor charms.





Restaurant: 55/100

Service: 8/30

To give staff their credit, they were very prompt with taking orders for drinks and food, and while the layout of the pub meant that it was very difficult for them to be within line of sight, they were in and out of our seating area on a frequent basis, which made it very easy to grab them if we needed anything. The downside is we did need things - cutlery for the main course was lacking until we grabbed a waiter, and a drink went awry until we reminded our waitress. It's also generally expected that a server will check in with a table at least one per course to check everything is alright - such enquiries were not forthcoming until our main.

Decor: 15/20
Like I've said in the blurb, this is an old building - the pub is spread out over multiple rooms, with tables of varying sizes tucked in every corner, and you have to duck a few beams when walking into certain parts - it makes it very easy to spot new wait staff, as they'll be the only ones who don't duck at the right point on instinct. The layout meant even though I knew some of the other parties featured squalling children, the sound never reached us, so noise wasn't a problem. The temperature was about right, if a little cold, but this was mostly because the place was packed and people frequently kept coming in and out of the doors, causing a draft. Even at nearly full to capacity, we had enough space to be comfortable, although more wouldn't have gone amiss. The thing I had a serious problem with though, was one corner of our area had a long-dead plant, with an enthusiastic strand of red tinsel wrapped around it, through its brown dead leaves. Christmas was over nearly 2 months ago, and dead plants have never been in vogue.

Drinks: 13/20
Only mainstream breweries were on offer behind the bar, and this being a traditional olde-time pub, there were no cocktails or mocktails on offer. Bonus for a decent amount of non-alcoholic drinks, which promptly gets knocked off again for serving my water with a slice of lime without asking.

Value for Money: 12/20
I added a bonus on, because I scored this in the pub, and then when we got to the till, we had £5 knocked off our meal due to an offer they had going on. This is a pub chain, but it's the upper end of the scale when you compare it to places like Wetherspoons. They did have quite a few offers on, in their favour.

Menu Selection: 7/10
Any menu that offers venison, scallops and burgers will normally have something for everyone. However, it wasn't as vegetarian friendly as I'd like, and I can't recall seeing any vegan options at all.





Starter: 62/100
Scallops and Black Pudding (with crispy pancetta and a honey and wholegrain mustard sauce) £5.99

Taste: 13/30
There were positives with this dish - the scallops were very nearly perfectly cooked; big, round, juicy, with just a touch of colour on either side. I have no idea where they sourced their black pudding from, but that was wonderful as well, the heavy, earthy flavour it should have been with the edge of pepper that anyone who is familiar with blood puddings of any sort will know and love.
Unfortunately, that's where the positives end. The pancetta - billed on the menu description as 'crispy' - was a limp, sorry thing that needed more cooking to provide the texture variation that this dish so needed. Without it, everything became sort of a mush.
This impression wasn't helped by the 'wholegrain mustard sauce', which was a lot of tasteless goo. Had it been given to me in a blindfold test, I'd have guessed it was an under-seasoned attempt at bechamel sauce, not anything that was supposed to have strong flavour. The only thing about the entire dish that wasn't mushy and soft were the rocket leaves...which unfortunately, didn't help on taste. The problem was whoever up at the Chef and Brewer headquarters designed this dish stuffed it full of big, heavy, salty flavours, which meant the taste of the scallops was little more than an echo of after taste, when they should have been the star of the show. Scallops are often served with something sweet to lift them up, and never have I had such a strong craving for delicate sticks of apple, maybe positioned gently on top of the entire thing, to offer some sort of variety of taste, texture AND to allow their star ingredient to shine. And for that matter, get rid of that damn sauce.

Presentation: 12/25
Well, they made an attempt - as can be seen from the picture - but were let down by a couple of things. For a start, the plate was cold - such a fundamental thing, so small, but can make such an impact. I’m a big black pudding fan, and even I find it hard to get enthused about the last few bites of a dish when it’s cold and claggy because the dish it’s been sitting on has acted like a heat sink and sucked all the warmth out of it. The other was the same sauce that caused so much bother in the taste scoring - it didn’t even look attractive, pooling on one side of the plate, thick and glutenous. Unappealing to say the least. Good attempt, bad execution.

Wait Time: 23/25
7 minutes to arrive, which can’t be sniffed at. High marks here.

Portion Size: 14/20
This could have been a main - albeit, a rather small one - if served with an appropriate side, not because of the amount of food, which wasn't skimpy, by any means, but because the dish was so heavy.





Main Course: 65/100
Roast Belly Pork with homemade crackling, mashed potato, braised cabbage and red wine sauce. £11.29

Taste: 21/30

Oh ambrosia! Oh nectar of the gods!
...Alright, my love of belly pork and braised cabbage may be getting away from me. But there were plenty of positives; the pork was beautifully soft, the crackling wonderfully crisp without being overdone so you don't have to worry about losing teeth. The cabbage was just sweet enough to provide balance for the fattiness of the pork, and the potato was soft and floury.
There were negatives, admittedly - the crackling was over seasoned, and the potato was woefully underseasoned. The sauce was supposed to be 'red wine', but the liquid from the braised cabbage had mingled with it and totally overpowered it, so it simply tasted of apple, which is a shame because a good, sticky, heavy red wine reduction would have added an extra level to the dish. I was also confused over one aspect of the dish; a small number of rocket leaves had been sandwiched between the pork and the potato, and I can't work out why. There weren't enough of them to make an impact, either for taste or texture.


Presentation: 19/25

The basics have all been covered - it has height, colour and shape - the plate choice was appreciated as well, given a lot of the items on the plate were wet, and the bowl meant I didn’t have to chase the pork around in an undignified manner. About as well done as it could have been without piping the potato and decreasing the amount of food on the plate to present it in an overly artistic manner.


Wait Time: 8/25

27 minutes to arrive from the point they cleared our starter plates - admittedly we were warned at about the 20 minute mark they’d be another ‘2-3 minutes’ - and then we had to ask for cutlery as well. Low score.

Portion Size: 17/20

Overly meagre portion size is not an accusation that can be flung at this dish with any hope of truth; I couldn’t finish, and my dining companion ended up hoovering up the remnants of my potato and cabbage, although he’d have had to duel me at dawn for any of the pork.





Dessert: 66/100
Chocolate and Caramel Torte, £4.99

Taste: 20/30

The torte on this was spectacular - dense, heavy and so full of flavour - with wonderful undertones of hazelnut and amaretti biscuits which prevents it from becoming too much. There were also strawberries and cream. which anyone who knows me will tell you is a quick and sneaky route to my heart. On the downside, the caramel sauce was disappointingly lacking in sweetness, to the point that it was overpowered by the torte and the cream, which should not have been the case.

Presentation: 12/25

Such a shame. The cream was a dollop, rather than piped, which given the average coffee shop these days can manage piped whipped cream is a basic. While I loved the strawberries, the fact their leaves were still attached was a negative, and the fact that some strawberry leaves had been piled on top even when they weren’t attached to a strawberry was a bigger negative. Something other than a random pool of caramel sauce would have been nice as well, really.

Wait Time: 11/25

11 minutes - after the very large main, a bit more of a wait would actually have been preferable!

Portion Size:11/20

This is never going to be a dessert you look at and decide to have it rather than a full meal. It’s at least a bit more substantial than simply a few sweet mouthfuls at the end of a large meal, but nothing to be awed over.


Overall Score: 248/400 (62%)

A thoroughly enjoyable meal, let down by some basic mistakes; wait times, presentation, seasoning, and most notably sauces. Still, there wasn’t anything that was actively objectionable, in good surroundings.

The Picture House, Stafford

The Picture House, Stafford
(Pub Food)
Wednesday // 15:00

Reviewer: Drew

The Picture House

Bridge Street

Stafford

ST16 2HL

The Picture House first opened its doors as a cinema in 1914, and continued on as a cinema through to the 1990’s, after which Wetherspoons bought it and converted it into the venue it is today.

Now it is a sizeable venue with a beer garden overlooking a river. Set at the end of the main road through the town center it is an easy location to find, however car parking anywhere near before 6pm can be a hassle.






Restaurant: 65/100

Service: 10/30

The venue was not as rigorously clean as many of the venue’s I’ve been to, but still the tables and bar were cleaned regularly. No big queues to get served, however the main issue I had was they were a bit lacking on clearing plates away, once they were clearing away my plates as they brought the next course. Several times rather than walk around the table we were asked to pass plates down across people. The staff however, were fairly friendly.

Decor: 14/20

Due to the historical nature of the venue, the walls have many posters from the movies of yesteryear proudly displayed on the walls. What remains of the original archetectural stylings are suitable impressive, however it could use a fresh coat of paint and some of the ceiling fixtures were displaying prominent cracks.

Drinks: 13/20

All the usual suspects present at pub chains were present and accounted for, and a selection of local brewery beverages available. Plenty of non-alcoholic options were available, but lacking mocktails.

Value for Money: 17/20

Of course, been a Wetherspoons, the value for money is there. Plenty of deals to get your food cheaper if you are there with a friend, beer and a burger deals, and special menu nights all serve to keep a little bit of your money in your pockets.

Menu Selection: 6/10

Again as a wetherspoons it was very vegetarian friendly offering many dishes with vegetarian options. Steaks, curry’s burgers and the usual pub favourites were on offer, but lacking in any locally sourced produce.

Starter: 56/100
Southern-Fried-Style Chicken Strips (£3.60)

Taste: 17/30

The batter was firm and crisp, the chicken well cooked and juicy, this was a delight to eat, the bit of peppercorn in the batter adding a little bit of complexity to the flavour. What let the dish down a little however, was the sauce, which lacked any real defining flavour, and wasn’t mixed well as the bottom of the pot was mostly unmixed (what I assume was) mayonnaise.  

Presentation: 9/25

Neat and tidy, but a bit over simplistic, as it is merely chicken strips thrown onto a plate with a pot of sauce

Wait Time: 22/25

It took around 10 minutes to arrive, which isn’t bad going for a starter.

Portion Size: 8/20

Ample sized portions, and just the right amount of sauce. I would perhaps have liked another strip, but perhaps that’s more to do with how tasty they were!






Main Course: 55/100
Reggae Reggae Chicken Wrap with sliced chicken breast  (£5.30)

Taste: 11/30

Let’s start with the positive on this one, the chips were crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside, damn fine chips all told. The chicken was well cooked and juicy, and the sauce was plentiful and had a nice gentle taste to it. The wrap itself however was dry and cracked - usually a sign it’s past its best. As you can see, one of the wraps bases was entirely cracked, making it really awkward to try and eat.

Presentation: 15/25

The plate was neat set out and warm. A little bit of thought had gone into the presentation, the way one wrap was pinned up to display it’s contents at a slightly off angle to the other rounded the plate out well.

Wait Time: 22/25

The meal arrived after 11 minutes, which for a main course is extremely fast turnaround.

Portion Size: 7/20

The size was adequate but felt a bit lacking after I had finished, certainly it left me wanting to eat more, which for a main isn’t ideal. Perhaps a small side salad would have made it a bit more of a meal.






Dessert: 48/100
Belgian Waffle with maple syrup - no ice cream  (£2.60)

Taste: 11/30

A bit overly sickly, but still I would have like a bit more syrup as it tasted a little bit dry. The waffle itself was bordering on overdone. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t terribly impressive

Presentation: 8/25

Plain neat, no frills, but not a lot of effort required. At least the bowl was drip free!

Wait Time: 25/25

Arrived in 6 minutes. I can’t fault that at all.

Portion Size: 4/20

Distinctly underwhelming and not filling in the least.






Overall Score: 224/400 (56%)

A fairly average and reasonably priced outing ( £11.50 + drinks). Truth be told I have a bit of a softspot for the venue due to it’s history and architecture. A fair meal for the price paid, and the venue doesn’t play music so it is an ideal place to eat and talk with friends.

The Butlers Bell, Stafford

The Butlers Bell, Stafford
(Pub Food)
Wednesday // 11:00am

Reviewer: Drew

The Butlers Bell

27 Gaolgate Street

Stafford

Staffordshire

ST16 2NT

Situated on Stafford high street, The Butlers Bell has a relatively unassuming and ungarish front. With a sizeable beer garden out back, and front windows that open fully, it is an excellent choice for a summer meal on a warm day.

Today however, it was snowing, so it wasn’t in it’s best season. However this is where a major selling point comes into play - an open log fire, excellent for sitting near when your cold through to your bones.

It is a member of the Wetherspoons group, and has only been open in Stafford for a year or so, a relative newcomer, as it were.





Restaurant: 69/100

Service: 16/30

The venue was rigorously clean, I even witnessed a waitress clean an unused table twice whilst I was sitting there. The queues were short and well attended to, and the staff were very friendly and welcoming. Our tables were cleared swiftly after each course, however the score was let down a little bit, as the staff seemed to have some confusion about what dessert they currently had available.

Decor: 12/20

An eclectic yet tasteful mix of furniture , nice dark woods, etc. However the mixture was a bit scattered, in my corner of 5 tables, there were five different types of table and five different types of chairs, I would have liked to see a bit more uniformity, perhaps having all of a certain type of table in one area. There was plenty of space and at no point did I feel crowded, and the temperature and noise level were comfortable.

Drinks: 17/20

All the usual suspect were present, a lack of mocktails was made up by the addition of offering beer from local breweries. Extensive alcoholic drinks menu and selection of world beers rounded it off, however points were knocked off for putting ice in my soft drink without asking - it was snowing outside, I was cold enough!

Value for Money: 17/20

Been a Wetherspoons, value for money was there. Plenty of 2 for 1 offers and beer and a burger deals, even a cheap bites section. For economy meals, you couldn't go too far wrong.

Menu Selection: 7/10

Very vegetarian friendly menu, with many meals offering vegetarian alternatives. An extensive menu featuring burgers, curries, steaks, and pub favourites rounded it off nicely, however I would have liked to have seen some locally sourced food on there.






Starter: 49/100
Southern-Fried-Style chicken strips (£3.60)

Taste: 10/30

Lets start with the positives shall we ? The sauce was delicious with a nice light spice level to give a little kick to it. The batter was crunchy and crisp, showing no signs of sogginess. Then there was the chicken itself. The strips were overdone slightly, leaving the chicken dry, chewy, and not easy to eat.

Presentation: 7/25

The sauce dish put in the center and the strips in a very rough attempt at a circle around it. The sauce pot rim wasn’t even wiped from the stray sauce drips. I’m sure you can see from the picture, it wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing of starters.

Wait Time: 24/25

It took 9 minutes to arrived, and they informed us it would be around 10-15, so it’s hard to find much fault with it.

Portion Size: 8/20

Plenty of sauce was served with it for the strips, there was sufficient chicken for a starter, but perhaps a little side salad (which would have also served to add some colour) wouldn’t have gone amiss.









Main Course: 70/100
Italian Burger: Chicken Breast, Mozzarella, nut-free Pesto + Free soft drink (£5.69)

Taste: 22/30

I’m not sure I can praise this course enough! The flavours all worked very well together - given the amount of pesto i thought it might have overridden all the other flavours, but thankfully it was very mild. The salad tasted fresh, the salsa had a mildly spicy bite to it, and the chips were soft and fluffy and perfectly cooked. Let down only by a lack of locally sourced ingredients, this burger was a delight.

Presentation: 17/25

They went to town on the presentation for this one, the picture doesn’t really do it justice. A towering burger, oozing delicious ingredients. A porcelain pot for chips, and a matching smaller one for salsa. A few onion rings on the side to bring it together, and all served on a heated wooden board. Sure it lacked real creative flair, but it was fine presentation for a burger.


Wait Time: 14/25

The dish arrived 21 minutes, when they originally told us 15. Whilst longer than I’d expect for a simple burger, it was still within an acceptable amount of time.

Portion Size: 17/20

The burger was stacked! The chips were filling. The pesto was flowing. In short, after this course I was struggling to find room for dessert, and had to settle for splitting it with a fellow diner.






Dessert: 62/100
Warm Chocolate Fudge Cake w/o ice cream  (£3.35)

Taste: 12/30

Bit of a mixed bag on this one - lets start by saying this cake was entirely delicious, with decadent amounts of chocolate oozing out at every angle. majorly let down, however, by the fact that only the lower half of it was warm! Now, my fellow diner preferred the cold half, so it wasn’t a problem for us, but when something is marketed as ‘Warm’ fudge cake, I expect it to all be warm.

Presentation: 15/25

Oh my god! With the chocolate oozing out, this cake looked so good I actually forgot I had to take a picture of it and started eating it first! You can still see from the picture however how positively scrummy it looked.

Wait Time: 25/25

Arrived in 7 minutes, and we were told it would arrive in 5-10 minutes. Couldn’t find any fault with it.

Portion Size:10/20

The flice was a good size before I started tucking into it, though after the filling main course I couldn't find room for all of it. Plenty of chocolate sauce, and then even offered us squirty cream at the table as it didn’t have ice cream. One it’s own however, it was a fairly normal size piece of cake.






Overall Score: 250/400 (63%)

A very hearty and enjoyable meal with a good selection of drinks on tap. A 3 course meal and a couple of drinks coming in at under £15, as for as bargain food goes, it is hard to find any real faults - the positives more than compensating for the flaws.

The Yard, Stafford

The Yard, Stafford
(Pub Food)
Friday // 17:00

Reviewer: Drew

The Yard

Unit B Espleys Yard

Stafford Riverside

Stafford

ST16 2EZ

The Yard overlooks the river going through Stafford center. Children are welcome, but it’s main selling point is it’s 5 flat screen TV’s, suitable for any sports fan on a match day. On weekend nights it takes on more of a club vibe with a dance floor cleared. Accessible via bridge (with ramps for disabled access), but no on site car parking.





Restaurant: 62/100

Service: 14/30

The venue was fairly clean and the staff ubiquitously friendly. Queue times were virtually non-existent, which was impressive considering I entered at 5pm on a Friday. The staff demonstrated a good knowledge of the menu, even going so far as to suggest a cheaper way to get our desserts - a buy one get one free offer on chocolate fudge cake that was not mentioned on the menu (and I checked, really I did!)

Decor: 12/20

The inside of the pub features a lot of dark woods giving a bit of a rustic feel, but with a modernist style. The location is spacious, offers a lot of comfortable seating and sofas you can sink into. A lot of eccentric artwork on the walls featuring animals with human bodies provided a bit of a talking point, and added to the overall theme of the venue. The only real complaint is the noise level with the music, which was above average and at times we found ourselves having to repeat ourselves as we were getting drowned out.

Drinks: 13/20

They had all the usual suspects you’d expect from a pub chain, with a selection of freshly prepared cocktails and mocktails. The staff didn’t have the greatest grasp of what they had on offer, but was more than adequate for the normal customers.

Value for Money: 17/20

Now, when it comes to value for money, that is where The Yard really began to shine, offering a big selection of offers - Beer and a Burger, two meals for £5.99 and a big eats section of the menu. All the dishes are on the mid to low end of the price spectrum, and you could easily dine for two on a tight budget.

Menu Selection: 6/10

The menu had all of the standard sections you’d expect, burgers, steaks, sandwiches, but mixed in a few more wild idea’s for dishes in a british pub. Notable examples would be a lot of mexicanized dishes, such as Burritos, Mexicano burgers, and a lot of alternatives to normal dishes  (though I am, admittedly, a big fan of spice, so the mexican dishes really called to me!

Starter: 59/100
Sesame Chicken Bites tossed in Chipotle Sauce (£3.00)

Taste: 19/30

This dish was really delicious, and I found it very enjoyable. The batter was crisp and dry, no grease at all. The chicken was cooked just right, and wasn’t dry at all. The chipotle had the sharp tangy flavour you would expect, but not enough to overpower the more delicate flavour of the chicken. The salad added a bit of crunch to the dish, but could have done with a little more dressing on it

Presentation: 11/25

The dish was presented in a very simple fashion, the drizzle of sauce created a nice gleam over the chicken, and the salad added a much needed burst of colour. The extra sauce, whilst welcomed, was simply put into a paper cup.

Wait Time: 22/25

From the moment of ordering it took 12 minutes to arrive, which is obviously a very fast turn around.

Portion Size: 7/20

The portion size was adequate for a starter, if somewhat on the smaller side. You can scale it up, 2 starter dishes for £5, but that would likely have been too much for a starter.









Main Course: 41/100
Mexican Rancho Beef Burger - bacon, free range fried egg, guacamole & chipotle BBQ sauce  (£6.99)

Taste: 7/30

This is where things went a bit downhill.

The burger was overcooked and dry, and dripping a substantial amount of grease (even for a burger). The bun was un-toasted, limp and lifeless. I couldn’t taste the Chipotle BBQ Sauce at all, and after deconstructing part of the burger it took me some time to find it the extremely liberal spread of it. Even the guacamole was out flavouring the Chipotle, and that is frankly mind boggling. Without the extra bite, this burger may as well have been a breakfast burger.

Oddest of all however, they chose to send it out with a thyme mayonnaise, which ignoring it’s questionable flavour really didn’t match the intended tone of the dish.

Presentation: 4/25

The presentation was basic, and didn’t look especially appealing. The chips were unevenly spread, and due to the greasiness of the burger, the napkin under it quickly became a squidgy mess. All in all, it didn’t look especially appealing on the plate.

Wait Time: 20/25

The dish arrived 15 minutes after ordering, which is on the very edge of excellent.

Portion Size: 10/20

The size of the portion I was given was distinctly average. I certainly wasn’t blown away, but it was quite filling.


















Dessert: 53/100
Chocolate Fudge Cake w/o ice cream  (£2.99, but reduced to half price - £1.48)

Taste: 17/30

Now things picked up again here. Obviously the cake was bought in and not handmade. They did remember to not serve it with ice cream, as requested, which is always a bonus. Ignoring where it was created though, the cake really did tick all the boxes, extremely rich and luxurious, and incredibly moreish.

Presentation: 4/25

Very basic and no frills, but hey, at least they plonked it near to the center of the plate!

Wait Time: 24/25

Arrived in 8 minutes, which is a nearly flawless response.

Portion Size: 8/20

Whilst it was delicious enough that I’d like to think I could eat another, I think the amount presented was enough so that the flavours didn’t get too sickly, and didn’t feel too bloated after it. I’d have liked a little more, but my major gripe is that nothing was offered to replace the ice cream, so I was left with half a dessert combo for the same price.







Overall Score: 215/400 (54%)

All in all, a thoroughly average meal, in a relatively pleasant pub. The starter and desserts were tasty, but hardly groundbreaking, but what really disappointed was the main course, which simply failed to deliver on almost every level. Certainly, however, the meal was filling and fairly cheap at £11.47 for three courses, running at roughly £15 including a couple of drinks.