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Address: High Street, Crickhowell, Powys NP8 1BW
Telephone: 01873 810408
Website: http://www.bearhotel.co.uk/
Date of visit: 7 January 2011
Costs: Mainly under £20 for 2 courses
Wines and beer: Several different including Rev James from just over £3 a pint. Basic wine list.
Likes and dislikes: Cosy, old.
Cuisine: Traditional Pub food
Summary:
The Bear Hotel is sited in Crickhowell in The Becons – a walker’s paradise. Although the Inn is approximately 2 centuries old, part of the building dates back to 1400s. The Inn is listed in The Michelin Guide (for accommodation), in The Good Pub Guide (for beer) and in Sawday’s for everything.
I was here for a birthday party of an eminent equine epidemiologist. There were close to 50 of us.
To start with we had black pudding with scallops with a smear of green pea puree. It was exceptional for a banquet food. However, it could do with more oil/sauce as it was quite dry. The pea smear was more for effect than to act as a sauce.
Main course was roast Welsh lamb with roast potatoes, cabbage, carrots and cauliflower. The veg were bit over cooked but still had a bit of a bite – remarkable for a banquet. The lamb was excellent. The potatoes – bit soggy. For dessert, fruit crumble with custard.
Looking at the restaurant menu, it’s all very traditional, steak, sausages, fish and chips, lamb shank etc. The food here are all high energy as most of the clients are serious walkers that will burn off the calories.
After dinner, I started sampling the various bitters (all Welsh) and they were excellent – didn’t have the Rev James.
The next day, breakfast was a serious fry up, eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding, mushrooms, tomatoes and fried bread. The coffee was good.
By the way, the rooms were pretty good although I struggled with the radiators.
E
Address: High Street, Lane End, High Wycombe HP14 3JG. Large car park.
Telephone: 01494 882 299
Website: www.grouseandale.com
Date of visit: 6 January 2012
Costs: Around £20 for 2 courses. Children’s menu available.
Wines and beer: Courage Best at £3.40 a pint. According to the website, they have other beers so I must assume that they rotate their beers
Likes and dislikes: Very good prices and decent food. Clean tables.
Cuisine: British grills
Summary:
This was recommended to me by the General Manager of West Wycombe Shooting Grounds. Apparently, they take their customers and guests there when catering is required. As I was in the area, I decided to give it a go.
To my first surprise, the pub is enormous with huge bar areas and dining rooms. It will easily sit over a hundred. The second shock was that this is a winner (SE region) of some gastro pub competition.
The menu is very much based on steaks and grills. Specials of the day include venison steak or pheasant – pan fried breast and confit of leg. Both priced at £16.
I went for the 28 day aged rump steak (£14.50) and a pint of courage best.
Whilst I was waiting for my meal, the owners turned up and one of them (Joy) started talking to some celebrity (he knew Chris Evans) on the table behind me. I don’t recognise him as I only watch Sky news, movies or sport. Apparently Chris Evans turned up the other day………
The steak was served on a square plate with a small salad, slice of tomato, a field mushroom, several battered onion concoctions, two sliced of steak and a pot of fat chips. As far as fat chips go, this was all right. But, I am not a fan of fat chips. It’s basically boiled potatoes with a skin. I asked for my steak medium and one piece was medium whilst the other was well done. The only way to cook steak is to have a piece at least one inch thick. This was about 1cm. Now onto the onion things, they were fried onions coated in batter and re-fried – absolutely great. The salad was fresh and well dressed.
It was a pretty good meal. I didn’t get round to look at the wine list but most of the wines behind the bar were screw tops. I know that most of the top wines in Australia, NZ and California have moved over to screw tops. In my view, it is only good for low end wines as the plastic cap does not allow the wine to change. So any wines that need maturing – won’t! I experimented with a few bottles of Plumbjack (USA). The 6 bottles I bought in the US were screw tops (about $80 per bottle). I then discovered that Harrods had the same year with corks (£55). I started opening them 5 years ago – side by side – after they have been cellared for over 8 years. There is no doubt that the ones with corks changed – for the better – whilst the screw tops remained the same. By the way, Plumbjack is owned by the mayor (ex) of San Francisco.
On my way out, I discovered that The Bull and Butcher (Turville) and The White Hart at Harwell are both part of the group. The Bull and Butcher was managed by a lady called Ms Botha. She must have sold up.
Well so far so good in 2012. Two decent meals at very good prices!
E
Address: Arborfield Cross, Berkshire RG2 9QD
Telephone: 0118 976 2244
Website: www.thebullinnarborfield.co.uk
Date of visit: 4 January 2011
Costs: Around £15 plus for 2 courses. Lunch time specials £8.50, baguettes £5-6. A la carte main courses from £10
Wines and beer: Courage best £3.20 a pint, short wine list with wines (vin de payes) from £11.95. Mad Fish at £21 – low marks ups.
Likes and dislikes: All good.
Cuisine: British and internationsl food
Summary:
There are several Bulls near Reading (Bisham, Arborfield, Finchampstead, Streatley etc) . I haven’t been here for well over a decade. The last time I dines here; I had lemon sole – tiny and bony – with loads of butter. I’ve heard that it has changed hands about a year ago – another pub taken over by the French.
I went one lunch time just before Xmas and was turned away because the place was full. I was there at 1pm today and to my surprise, the car park was nearly full again. Inside around 80% of the tables were occupied with mainly over 60s. I soon discovered why. The lunch menu has main courses at £8.50 and there were 8 dishes to choose from.
The inside of the pub can only be described as functional. It was packed with tables – all devoted to dining.
I settled for a whitebait starter and sausages, bacon eggs, beans and chips (£8.50) for my main course. I also had a pint of Courage Best to go with my meal. The bitter was excellent.
The starter soon arrived and for £4.95, I had a plateful of whitebait with a tub of tartar sauce and a small salad. They were all good. The whitebait was crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. This is probably the best whitebait sine The Five Mile House and The Hand and Flowers. The salad was crisp and fresh and the tartar sauce home made with the crunch of bits of gherkins.
For the main course, I was offered 2 rashes of streaky bacon, 2 eggs, 2 sausages, tub of bake beans and French fries. The worst bit was the streaky bacon. The sausages were firm and crisp on the outside, eggs came with runny yolks and a big pile of French fries – 10/10. Without a doubt, I haven’t had proper French Fries like this for years. This beats triple cooked chips hands down as triple cooked chips tend to be greasy because the fissures around the potato soaks up too much oil.
The food here is fairly non intricate but interesting and they are not too hot on presentation– it won’t get into the Michelin Guide. But it is really good and fantastic value.
If a place is packed on a weekday lunch time, that is a sure sign that it is good.
E
Address: 397 Kings Road, Chelsea, London SW10 0LR
Telephone: 020 7352 4146
Website: N/A
Date of visit: 29 December 2011
Costs: Set lunch: £14 for 2 courses, £18 for 3 courses. A la carte: £30 plus for 2 courses
Wines and beer: Peroni £3, house red (Chanti) and house white (Saove) under £20 a bottle.
Likes and dislikes: Decent neighbourhood restaurant – pretty cramped. Beware of cover charge (£1 per head) as well as 12.5% service on top of the cover charge!
Cuisine: Italian
Summary:
I met my friend CK for lunch.
This is a small restaurant at the Fulham end of Kings Road. There is metered parking outside.
The place seemed to be frequented by regulars as they all seemed to know each other. Apparently, this place is also frequented by Chelsea FC players, hence all the signed shirts. There is a sort of “high” communal table at the back – I presume that is where the players sit.
The set lunch was full of choices. I had the fritto misto followed by veal with mushroom whilst CH had parma ham with figs (he asked for a change from melon) followed by grilled chicken. We also ordered a bottle of sangiovase (£29.50)
The fritto misto had prawns (shrimps), mussels, calamari and whitebait in it. It was ok and the quantity was pretty big but the texture suggests that it was previously frozen. The tartar sauce was home made.
For main course, my veal was excellent but it came with saute potatoes, beetroot (golden) and Brussels sprouts which were not typical Italian vegetables. Looking around, I couldn’t see anyone eating pasta although it was on the menu – set lunch and a la carte.
It was an OK meal at OK prices for this part of the world but no more. CK was good company.
Total bill for 2 including a Peroni came to £73.23 including service.
E
Address: Henley road, Medmenham, Bucks, SL7 2HE
Telephone: 01491 571 362
Website: www.thedogandbadger.com
Date of visit: 20 December 2011
Costs: Around £20 for 2 courses. Most starters under £6 and most main courses over £10
Wines and beer: Rebellion and Fullers on tap. £3.40 for a pint of London Pride. Basic wine list with a few wines under £20 a bottle.
Likes and dislikes: Lovely pub, friendly landlord, excellent food and beer. Unfortunately, the tables are slightly sticky. Nothing that a spring clean can’t put right.
Cuisine: British
Summary:
I went shopping at John Lewis (High Wycombe) as it was an out of town site with ample parking. To my surprise, it was not as big as it looked from theM40. It was significantly smaller than the John Lewis in Reading.
The last 2 weeks before Xmas is a difficult place to eat out as most places are booked up for Xmas hospitality and staff dinners. The only ones that you can still get in are country pubs.
I have driven pass this Pub many times. It is on the main road between Marlow and Henley. The car park is usually nearly full. The Pub is listed as a lucky dip in this year’s good pub guide.
I was first in at 12.00 when the car park was empty. The pub is long with dining areas to both sides of the bar. There were trival persuit quiz cards on the tasble. The landlord explained that the quiz cards get most people “talking”. I got 4 questions out of 5 right on the first card and I decided that it was time to stop whilst the going wwas good.
I had a pint of London Pride and it was very good. In fact it was so nice, I had another.
The food here is fairly basic – fish and chips, steak, sausages and mash etc. Sandwiches are available from £6.
I settled for the haddock and chips (£12.50) and was surprised when it came. It was nicely presented with a medium size piece of fish sitting on top of a pile of mushy peas; there was a small side salad and a tube of thick chips and a light smear of vinegar around the mushy peas. It was one of the best presented fish and chips meal I have ever eaten. The food was not bad either. The fish excellently cooked. The chips – well they were a bit thick so it was like boiled potato with a crispy outside – roast potato. The tartar sauce was home made. This would certainly rank in my top 10 if not top 5.
E
Address: 11 Church Green, Whitney, Oxon OX28 4AZ
Telephone: 01993 892 270
Website: www.fleecewhitney.co.uk
Date of visit: 15 December 2011
Costs: Under £20 for 2 courses unless you have the steak.
Wines and beer: Simple wine list at a reasonable price. Bottles start at £14.95. Beer is Green King complemented with a guest beer.
Likes and dislikes: Greene King is not my preferred tipple. Guest ale was Rocking Rudolph, a Xmas beer from Hardy and Hansdon which was all right but not great. Again, the wine list was OK but nothing special. Tables are clean and the food is all right and very reasonably priced. Good service (servers).
Cuisine: British.
Summary:
Whitney is about 10miles from Oxford.
The Fleece has had a few decent write ups including Pub of the Year. Sawday’s gave it a very good review in the latest guide.
It is free parking along the edge of the Green for 2 hours. This gave me ample time to sample the delights.
Upon entry, I was amazed to find the place packed to the rafters. Not a spare table except for the high ones with high stools around the bar area. I know its chic but the high tables and chairs are not very comfortable – you can’t lean back.
The bar served Greene King and the usual lagers. I was attracted to the guest ale – Rocking Rudolph (£3.40 a pint)- as the sign on the hand pump had flashing lights.
There is a standard menu and a blackboard for the day’s specials. Most food came with chips. They also had a few deli boards – cheese, charcuterie, fish etc, all at £11.50
The starters were pretty normal until I came across haggis with neeps and tatties served with a whisky cream sauce (£6.75). I went for the haggis and the cheese board.
The haggis arrived some 25 minutes later and it was warm not hot. The haggis was crème brulee (upside down) shaped and sat on a pile of mash potatoes (tatties) surround by a pool of sauce. I have never understood why haggis is normally served dry, it worked well with gravy and in this case, the whisky sauce was pretty good. However, I could not find any neeps (swede or turnips). The dish was quite tasty.
I then had to wait another 25 minutes for my cheese board. OK, they were packed but still…….When it came, I had stilton, cheddar, taleggio and some hard goats cheese. The apple chutney they served with the cheese was fantastic and the celery sticks and a big pile of biscuits certain made the dish pretty filling.
This is a nice place in a fantastic location. The food is fine. They just need to sort the beer out. But then, I noticed that most of their clients were women who were drinking Evian or wine.
E
Address: Lower Froyle, Hampshire GU34 4NA
Telephone: 01420 23261
Website: http://www.anchorinnatlowerfroyle.co.uk/
Date of visit: 12 December 2011
Costs: Around £20 for 2 courses
Wines and beer: Decent wine list at normal mark up. King John (Andwell Brewery), Moondance (Triple fff) all at £3.10 a pint
Likes and dislikes: This is a proper pub with a dining room. Everything is old.
Cuisine: Modern British – nose to tail eating
Summary:
Lower Froyle is in the middle of nowhere – nearest town is Alton.
Best way to get here is to turn by the Golden Pot on B 3349 or from the A31. Any other route will take you through narrow country lanes.
I met my friend P for a pre Xmas lunch.
Although the Pub is in the middle of nowhere – most of the clients turn up in Range Rovers, the car park was half full when I arrived at 12.30.
The Anchor is a 16 Century building with 2 bars and a dining room. The place is full of old bric-a-brac including a Victorian Solder’s uniform as seen in Zulu (Michael Caine, Stanley Baker etc). They even have Victorian Pornography (drawings) in the men’s toilet by the bar – children are advised to use the toilets in the dining room. The Inn also offers accommodation and can arrange fishing and shooting and various country pursuits. The Pub is listed in Sawday’s and The Good Pub Guide.
The menu is printed fresh every day.
P and I settled for a couple of pints of King John – fairly decent beer – and the haddock and triple cooked chips (£13) . You get 2 slices of lightly battered fish, a pile of mushy peas and chips that may have been triple cooked but has no crunchy raggered edge – they didn’t boil the potato until it breaks down or they are using the wrong type of potato. I recall that the waitress at The Hind Head (Heston Blumenthall) told me that they can only make triple cooked chips at certain times of the year because of the availability of certain types of potatoes.
The fish and chips were pretty good but was not one of the greats.
The place was packed by the time I left. Pretty good for a Monday lunch time.
E
Address: 5a Ethel Street,Birmingham B2 4BG
Telephone: 0121 633 4664
Website: http://chezjules.co.uk/
Date of visit: 7 December 2011
Costs: Set Meals only (with choices) . Lunch at £10.95 for 2 courses. Puds from £4.50. £22.50 for 3 courses in the evening
Wines and beer: Cheap wines – from £14.50 a bottle. Not so cheap continental beers (strong!) around £4-6 a bottle e.g. Vedett Extra Blonde at £4.35 a bottle.
Likes and dislikes: Basic, functional and the meals are OK. Clean tables. Beware: restaurant is on the first floor so it is not easily accessible for wheelchairs, prams etc.
Cuisine: French Bistro
Summary:
Ethel street is just off New Street.
I was in town to check out this year’s German Xmas Market. It is as big as ever and certain stall now go right up to the Bullring. The usual bread, sausages and beer stands are there together with quite a few cooked food stalls. In fact as per previous years, they have the same (nearly) stalls in the same place.
I was looking for somewhere to stop and have lunch whilst I was wandering the market. I am afraid that this part of town is not idea for a “good” lunch. The usual Cage Rouge, KFC etc dominate the landscape. There are a few more interesting eateries around the Bull Ring.
I tried Shakespeare last year and it was just Ok. What put me off from going back was the seating – it was like sardines in a tin.
Chez Jules offered a very simple lunch – 3 starters and 3 main courses to choose from – for £10.95. I was offered a table next to an old boy who was trying to chat up a girl less than half his age but more than twice his size.
For starters, you can have Waldorf salad (I thought that this was American), pate or whitebait (again, not a French dish). For mains, Beef Bourgeon, lentil bake or chicken sausages. All served with fries.
The white bait were bread crumbed and were excellent. With it came a little salad of finely chopped tomatoes in a vinaigrette dressing. No mayo was provided. However, the chopped tomatoes were an excellent “salsa” to the whitebait.
The chicken sausages (3) were chipolata size and is exactly the same as you get in an American Hotel for breakfast. It came in a large pool of cream of mushroom sauce which tasted like cream of mushroom soup. The chips were good.
I enjoyed my meal there and would recommend the restaurant as a decent budget eatery.
E
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Address: 20 Highfield Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 3DU.
Telephone: Tel: 0121 454 3434
Website: http://www.simpsonsrestaurant.co.uk/
Date of visit: 7 December 2011
Costs: £50plus per head for a la carte. Tasting menu £85, paired with wine, another £50. Another 12.5% service on top.
Wines and beer: Serious wine list, some pretty decent wines at a reasonable mark up. There are a few wines under £100, mainly whites. Best value red wine was a 2005 Pommard at £75.
Likes and dislikes: Good cooking. Excellent service. Very pricy when compared with peers in the same city e.g. Turners of Harbourne and Edmunds. Limited parking – beware of people abandoning their cars in the car park. I had to do a 20 point turn to get out of the car park.
Cuisine: Haut Cuisine
Summary:
I went with my daughter J for our Xmas extravaganza – she lives in Mousley. We have been to Turners (15 Dec 2010) and Edmunds (14 July 2011) in the previous outings.
Simpsons is housed in a large white “colonial building”. On the day we went, there was a function there and it was noisy and busy. Whilst I was parking, one couple just drove up to the front door and abandoned their BMW in a non space. This place obviously attracts the Birmingham (I am important) crowd. This is also probably the most upmarket restaurant in Birmingham. Most customers were either businessmen/women, old man with young woman or over weight couples.
The place was awash with servers and they refold your napkin when you disappear to the washroom. My sister’s two requirements of high end restaurants – besides the food – are that they refold the napkin every time you leave the table and the food comes covered in a dome which they lift at the table. They don’t do domes at Simpsons.
The inside was bigger than I thought. There were 3 dining rooms and a function room. When full, they would probably serve over 100 covers. The place was nearly full on the night we went and although officially it is last orders at 9pm, at least 20 diners turn up after 9.30 and a couple turned up at 10.30 just as we were calling for the bill.
We were given a table in the L shaped sun lounge that ran round the building. It was narrow and housed 3 tables for 2 on each leg of the L.
We went for the tasting menu paired with wines (7 glasses). As each course and wine came to the table, it was explained. However the French Sommelier spoke limited English. Whilst he explained every wine, he could not understand some of my questions.
A wonerful basket of warm bread soon arrived with several types but when this was emptied, they did not offer more bread. Like all Haute Cuisine, there was very little carbohydrates served with the meal except desserts.
Over all, there were some great dishes but also some hits and misses. Here is a summary:
I was full to the brim near the end.
Although the wine list was expensive with most wine available at several hundreds of pounds. This was actually decent value as when I was wandering around Selfridges in the Bullring, I noticed that they have a bottle of 2004 Lafite Rothschild for sale at £1200. 2004 was a rubbish year.
Overall, when compared with Turners and Edmunds, this was expensive – only one freebie amuse broche and no sorbet to clean the palate in between courses. With water, the bill for 2 came in at £300 plus for 2. I haven’t paid a bill like this sine The Fat Duck.
E
Address: Ermin Street, Lambourne Woodlands, RG17 7SD
Telephone: 01488 71386
Website: www.theharerestaurant.co.uk
Date of visit: 2 December 2011
Costs: a la carte at round £25 plus for 2 courses. All day “muffin” menu around £6, set lunch and lunch “specials”
Wines and beer: Only house wine available by the glass or just under £20 a bottle. Reasonable wine list. Speckle Hen on Tap (£3.80 a pint)
Likes and dislikes: Lovely restaurant, clean table and above average food.
Cuisine: Modern British/European
Summary:
This is one of several “eatery” in the heart of equine country. This one is the only one listed in The Good Food Guide. The others are listed in Sawday’s. The only reason why this place is not listed in Sawday’s is because it is a restaurant and not a pub.
The Hare Restaurant is housed in a building several centuries old. It has been extended and I must say that the old and the new blended well together.
You enter into a small bar area with leather sofas. The dining area is split into several areas in a sort of open plan to the right.
They have an all day grazing menu which looked good with different types of muffins – different toppings (Florentine, Benedict etc) with different sauces at around £6. Sandwiches are also available at around the same prices.
There is a set lunch at £27.50 for 3 courses or £14.50 for a course.
I went for the all day menu with mushrooms on brioche toasts as a starter (it was in the main course section) £5.50 and fish and chips at £11.25.
The mushroom in crème fraiche on brioche toast was huge. It was excellent. The mushrooms still chewy and not over shrunk. At £5.50, it was amazing value.
The fish and chips came with tartar sauce, green beans and a battered fish sitting on a pile of chips. Lets start with the chips. It was slightly bigger than what I recognise as French fries and it came unsalted – excellent. The fries were ok but nothing special. The tartar sauce was a bit mild – it was chunky but needed more vinegar. The fish pretty fresh and the beans absolutely superb.
I like the place and the food.
I was the only diner at 1pm but the place livened up at 2.30 as I was leaving. Perhaps that’s why they have an all day menu.
E