Froggies at Timber Batts, Bodsham, Kent

My apologies for the long gap since my last blog entry, I hope it won't be this long until my next one!

Timber Batts is a lovely old country pub between Ashford and Canterbury on the road out of Wye.  It's tucked away in the tiny village of Bodsham (no, I'd never heard of it before either!) and it's well worth the effort of finding it for yourself.  There is plenty of seating inside at an eclectic mix of tables, but if the weather permits you might want to sit outside and enjoy the rural views from the quiet garden to the side of the pub.  Froggies is, as you might expect from the name, run by a French father and son who have done well to retain the traditional English pub feel while adding their own Gallic charm to the place.  There are a number of wine case lids from some of the grand estates decorating the beams, and every shelf and sill is covered in empty wine bottles that span generations and vineyards of the world, mostly having been drunk by the owner!

We stopped in for a quick lunch (and maybe a swift half!) on the way home and were genuinely delighted with the food.  Although the lunch menu is short, it is full of good options including a home made burger (more on that later), various baguettes and sandwiches, moule frites, or simply ham egg and chips.  Something for everyone then!

I was feeling pretty hungry, so I went for the homemade burger, which comes with french fries and a small green salad on the side.  It's a good job I was hungry, because there was plenty of it and it was delicious.  The difficulty with very thick burgers is cooking them right through without letting them dry out, something the chef managed very nicely indeed.  There was a generous side order of the thinnest fries, and the salad had a light drizzle of house dressing that just helped cut through the big flavours in the burger.  The ham and chips looked very good too, the ham was lightly smoked and thinly cut, while the baguettes were big enough to feed even the hungriest mouth.

One of my favourite things to finish a meal is a café gourmand, usually a shot of espresso with two or three mini deserts just intended to give you something sweet to finish your meal, so I was delighted to find it on the menu.  It came with a couple of home made macaroons and a glass of café liegeois (espresso coffee poured over coffee ice-cream and topped with whipped cream served in this case in a shot glass).  A close second choice for me was the trio of deserts, which included an apricot tatin, panna cotta,  and a raspberry melba.  The desert for people unable to decide what to have, but delicious none the less.

Easy to find?  No.
Worth the effort?  Certainly.
Worth the price?  Yes, I think so.

The Stile Bridge, Linton / Marden

How nice it is to come across somewhere new that ticks all the boxes!  Having asked for suggestions earlier in the week (see my last post) I got a handful of suggestions, many of which I'd tried before, including a couple of ringing endorsements for The Stile Bridge at the bottom of Linton Hill on the way to Marden.  It's well over ten years since I last visited The Stile Bridge, so I thought it was probably time to give it another try.

The Stile Bridge fronts right onto the road between Maidstone and Staplehurst in the middle of nowhere.  It's a welcome sight on a cold, dark, winters night, a feeling that grows as you enter to find a roaring open fire and a busy little bar.  The walls and ceilings are covered in pub, brewery and booze memorabilia, including a fine collection of miniatures in a nice old display cabinet and a collection of printed pub mirrors.  There are five real ales, several unusual lagers and one cider on draught and a selection of more than forty bottled beers from which to choose.  Sorry about the blurry picture, but you get the idea...

Having ordered our drinks (a pint of Horsham ale for me!) we were seated straight away in a cosy side room just off the bar.  The menu was short enough to suggest minimal use of the freezer, but long enough to contain a number of unusual and interesting choices.  I'd never heard of Onglet steak before, but the waitress was able to explain that it is a cut of beef taken from just behind the rib.  I'll give it a try on our next visit, sounds good.

We started with deep fried brie with cranberry sauce for Liz and chicken liver parfait for me.  The brie was rich and creamy, and the parfait was as light as a feather.  We were off to an excellent start.

As well as a well balanced menu there were a number of specials on offer, including a pie of the day.  Now, I have a real problem with what most pubs seem to think passes for a pie.  (For the record, a bowl of stew with a flaky pastry lid is not a pie!)  Imagine my delight, then, on being told that the special was a short crust pastry mixed game pie of generous proportions!  How could I refuse?  It was lovely!  If I was being hyper-critical, it could have had a bit more meat inside, but it was delicious, filling and definitely a real pie.  The accompanying veggies were cooked to perfection and the skin-on chips were crispy.

Liz chose the lamb leg steak with rosemary butter and roasted winter vegetables.  This turned out to be a big slab of melt in the mouth lamb smothered in melted butter with a stack of mixed beetroot, potato, carrot and parsnip chips that added a lovely earthy dimension and a few unusual flavours.  We also had a bowl of the best beer battered onion rings either of us had ever had to share.  As it turns out, there was no need to order side dishes as the main meals were more than filling enough, but we'll certainly be ordering them again, maybe with a house special burger or freshly made pizza next time.

We both chose desserts from the specials board, in the hope that we'd manage to squeeze them in.  Liz fancied the chocolate pot, which was dark, delicious, and came with a lovely little filo basket of red berries to cut through the richness.  I had a blood orange posset with shortbread, mostly because I'd never had it before. It was sweet and creamy with a citrus twist, the perfect end to a very good meal.

 I think it won't be long before we're back.  The beer was excellent, the food was good, the staff were friendly and knowledgeable.  I'm told there might even be some house brewed beer on offer soon and I'd certainly like to try that.  We are very lucky here in Kent, we have a number of genuinely nice pubs that go the extra mile.  This is certainly one of them. 

Should you find yourself in Canterbury...

There are lots of things to see and do in Canterbury. As well as the obvious touristy things like the Cathedral and Canterbury Tales display, there is a delightful walk around the top of the city walls, a city museum, the Rupert the Bear museum and a variety of boat and punt trips are available. Canterbury is also a really great place to go for a wander round the shops, with a quirky mixture of modern new malls and ancient, beamed buildings off narrow medieval alleys. There is no shortage of choice when it comes to food either, with the usual array of Ask, Cafe Rouge, Pizza Express and so on in prominent locations on the main street.

If you fancy something a little more....interesting, then take the time to find Tiny Tim's Tearoom just down from the Canterbury Tales Experience. It's worth the effort! With traditional favourites likes poached eggs on toast and Welsh rarebit on the menu alongside cream teas and more substantial meals, there really is something for everyone. The building itself is very old and full of character, with low beams and nooks and crannies on all floors. Ok, it's not cheap, but it is worth it. I recommend the Welsh rarebit topped with a poached egg. Delicious!

Having enjoyed a lovely light lunch in Tiny Tim's I suggest a stroll round the corner and down Hawk Street to the city museum. Having had your fill of local history, it is a very short walk down the alley along side the museum to Brown's Coffee House. Go, sit in a huge leather sofa, soak up the friendly atmosphere and enjoy one of the best cups of coffee you're ever likely to try. If you have any room after your lunch, try a slab of one of the delicious cakes on offer too, you won't be disappointed. Places like Brown's are hard to find with the prevalence of Starbucks and Costa etc, so it is refreshing to stumble across a genuine, friendly, high quality coffee house offering so much more than formula menus and bought in character.

Ideal Home Christmas Show taste tests

Dee and I went up to Earls Court to have a mooch round the Ideal Home Christmas Show last weekend.  The show itself was split fairly evenly into demonstrations, sales booths and show areas.  Needless to say we tried just about everything anyone offered us, and in the process discovered a few little gems!

The highlights for me were -

A coffee / chocolate bar called "Coffeelate" which is a lovely crumbly mixture of real coffee and darkish chocolate.  Deeply satisfying on a number of levels.  The stand selling it was generous with their samples and was only selling this one product.  It was nice to be able to meet the man behind the idea too, he is rightfully very proud of it.

A bit of a left-field choice, but next in line for a re-positioning in the market place (following the huge success Magners have had in marketing the cider and ice idea) is Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry.  They were there in force, with cute little stands like gardens complete with astro-turf and garden furniture.  The generous samples they were handing out were shot glasses of sherry with a slice of orange and a chunk of ice.  Not much of a departure from the traditional glass of sherry, perhaps, but then neither was adding ice to cider!  It certainly made it a much more appealing drink, and if you've got a bottle tucked away at the back of your drinks cupboard I'd recommend trying it that way.

Debbie & Andrew's sausages were handing out chunks of their fantastic sausages, sizzling away on a row of George Foreman grills on their little stand.  We know their products of old and always look out for them at shows as there are often deals to be had.  The traditional Lincolnshire pork sausages, pork and apple, and Toulouse varieties are our favourites.  They are meaty and low in fat (for a sausage!) and taste just as good cold the next day.

My personal favourite was a great drink called "Fireball".  I went to visit their stand to try the bourbon (which was very good!) but then the guy asked if I like cinnamon.  As some of you may already know, I'd eat a toadstool if it had enough cinnamon on it, so I jumped in.  He poured me the smallest thimble full of whisky I've ever seen, but that turned out to be enough.  It is well named indeed!  A blend of cinnamon and Canadian whisky, the feeling of warmth that spreads out as it sinks down has to be experienced to be believed.  It's fairly strong, at 33% it's not full strength but you'd never know it.  The highlight, though, was trying it again but mixed with apple juice....like a good apple pie in a glass!  What a stunning drink, delicious!

Amongst the better food stands was a butcher who had brought a griddle plate and was selling steak sandwiches the like of which you've never seen as well as joints, steaks, various cuts of fantastic looking meat.  Not what I expected to see at an Ideal Home Show, but he clearly knew his stuff.

There were a vast number of stands selling flavoured vodka of one type or another, toffee or fruit flavours, but they were all missing something.  An original idea perhaps?

The champagne and oyster bar next to the fashion catwalk was fun too, with a choice of oysters with tabasco, lemon, salt & pepper or au natural and a selection of champagnes.  Dee had a glass of Laurent Perrier Premier Cru, while I went a little up-market and opted for the Grand Cru to see if we could honestly tell the difference.  Well, we certainly could!  The Premier Cru was very good indeed, light and refreshing, but the Grand Cru was as smooth as silk and absolutely delicious.

All in all it was a good show, lots of new products being showcased and plenty to look at, try on, taste or just stand and watch.  Worth the trip up to London, without a doubt.

Sotirio's in Hythe

Friday night a bunch of us from work trooped off to Hythe for dinner to celebrate the retirement of our Inspector for East Kent, John Conway. After 42 years in the industry we thought he'd earned a bit of a rest! We met up in The White Heart pub in Hythe High Street, had a swift pint of excellent beer called "Number 5", then headed for the restaurant.

Although I was reminded of a rather old fashioned hotel dining room, the atmosphere in Sotirio's was comfortable and the food was very good. We all ordered from the £20 for three courses menu, which offered enough variety to ensure something for everyone. My duck liver & orange pâté starter was clearly home made, very rich and as smooth as silk. I took a bit of a chance, ordering the lamb knuckle for main course. Who knew lamb had knuckles? Well, it was tender and tasty, the meat just fell off the bone, cooked long, low & slow. The only slight disappointment was the veg, and I'm really being picky here because the mange-tout and sauté potatoes were very good (there were sliced courgettes as well), but that was it for veg. Had there been some carrots or something with a little more colour & texture it would have been spot on.

Deserts were chosen from a large trolley (further enhancing the old fashioned hotel feel) and all looked superb. The banoffee pie was in no way, shape or form a pie, but who cares. It was fresh, home made, light and delicious, and there was plenty of it.

It is not easy to get all the food out to a large table all at the same time, but the kitchen managed it very well. Particularly given that as well as our table of 16 there was another group of a similar size in at the same time.

There was live music while we dined, a very pregnant singer gave good renditions of classic songs. I was a bit concerned at first that this would mean conversation might be difficult but actually it was just loud enough, but not intrusive. Later on, the owner "treated" us to a few songs if his own, which were....different. The food was very good and reasonably priced, this is definitely one to come back to next time we're in the area.

The Red Lion, Milstead

We consulted the Michelin Guide to see what other recommended pubs were within easy reach, it's been a looooong week and neither of us fancied the formality of a restaurant so this seemed a good compromise.  We both liked the look of The Red Lion in Milstead, just south of Sittingbourne, a very short distance from the middle of nowhere.  The Guide says "Simple, cosy country pub, ever changing blackboard menu offers French influenced country cooking" amongst other things....sounded ideal.

From the outside the pub is nothing to look at, screened from the road as it is by bushes and trees.  The flat brick side that greets you from the car park isn't particularly inspiring, but that soon changes as you walk through the door into the small bar area that felt immediately warm and comfortable, despite there only being two other customers there when we arrived.   The only draught ale on offer was Wells Bombardier, which was very good indeed.

The Michelin Guide isn't joking when it says "blackboard menu", there is one fairly large blackboard at the end of the bar, from which you choose starters and main courses.  We were seated quite close to it, so we had little difficulty, but every other group that came in had to sort of mill around between it and our table while they decided what to have (which became a real drag when a relatively elderly group of four came in and struggled to make decisions!).

Dee chose goats cheese on rustic bread with air cured ham and salad to start, while I opted for Coquilles St. Jacques (scallops & prawns in mashed potato served in a scallop shell, in case you were wondering).  Yes, I know....scallops again!  What can I tell you, I love them.  After a very short wait the starters arrived and they were both nice enough, but that's about all we could find to say about them.

I had high hopes that the main courses would blow us away though, so with great enthusiasm I tucked into my bowl of bouillabaisse.  It lacked nothing for ingredients, at least three different types of white fish, scallops, king prawns, huge mussels, assorted unidentifiable shell fish and a rich, smokey soup/sauce.  It was very good, but no better than the bouillabaisse I had recently at The Horseshoes (see a previous blog entry) which was almost exactly half the price.  I still think I came out ahead of Dee though, her smoked haddock fish cakes weren't up to much at all.  Barely browned in the pan, more fish stodge than fish cakes, which is a shame because they were clearly home made and actually quite tasty.  I'm not sure who thought serving them with mashed potato was a good idea, given that the majority of a fish cake is already mashed potato, but there you go.

Never mind, though.  We're two courses in, both of which were nice enough, even if they weren't staggeringly good.  Still searching for whatever it was the Michelin researchers saw in the place, we soldiered on to the desert course, purely for research purposes you understand!  Dee ordered her favourite pud, apple and red berry crumble with vanilla ice-cream, while I forced down a slice of home made amoretto baked cheesecake with toffee sauce.  Once again, I think I won this course too!  My cheesecake was a little overpowered by the toffee sauce, but the texture was good and the whole thing was a nice rich finish to the meal.  The crumble, on the other hand, was certainly not a crumble.  It was more like a bowl of very sweet fruit with a sweet crust that had been welded together with a blow-torch just prior to serving.  Such a shame.

So we leave, slightly disappointed and seventy quid poorer, feeling that while it was nice, it wasn't quite nice enough for the money.  I don't think we'll hurry back, although I'm open to suggestions that we caught them on an off night.

The Three Chimneys, Sissinghurst / Biddenden

Having seen The Three Chimneys listed in the Michelin Guide as "recommended" we thought we'd better go see if it was worth our seal of approval as well.  The Chimneys is a picturesque country pub in the middle of nowhere, just off the road between Biddenden and Sissinghurst.  Rumour has it that French prisoners were kept nearby during the Napoleonic war, they were told that although they were more or less free to roam they should not go further than the three-way junction or "trios chemins" as they called it.  The pub building pre-dates the Napoleonic war by several hundred years and certainly plays to its strengths inside.

 Ales are served straight from the barrel, tonight there was a New Zealand Pale Ale, Adnams Best and Tribute available.  The pale ale was a little too bitter for my liking, but the Tribute was very good indeed.  It's always nice when beer comes in the correct branded glass, I know it shouldn't matter but it's interesting that so many pubs (and presumably breweries) have cottoned on to this fact.

There are two bars, a bar food area and the restaurant.  The restaurant itself is split into various small niches and groups of two or three tables which gives the place a cozy, intimate feel.  There is also a large orangery which looked comfortable and inviting, I'll bet it's a delightful place to eat in the summer too.  The beams are decorated with hop bines, the walls are thick with wine labels and brewery mementos.  We sat next to a roaring wood-burning stove that proved so effective we had to switch places, a sort of turn and baste every 15 minutes exercise!  Fortunately our waiter was able to turn it down for us, it was gas powered and not a wood burner at all.  Fooled me.  (Not too difficult, i hear you cry!)

The menu changes very often, it seems.  So much so that there are no printed copies, just a large blackboard with that days offerings listed on it in chalk.  All the meat is sourced locally, as is as much of the other ingredients as possible.  We chose quite different starters, a large flat mushroom stuffed with caramelised red onion and goats cheese for Dee and deep fried brie with home made fruit sauce for me.  We were astonished at the size of the portions, given that these were only starters they were massive!  I've bought smaller chunks of brie from the supermarket, I'm sure.  Both plates were well presented and both dishes delicious, just far too big.  Never thought you'd hear me say that, did you?  No, me neither.

We both chose the braised shoulder of venison as our main course, although if I had known the portions would be so large I would have gone for the scallops.  The venison comes from a deer park near Sevenoaks, it was served on a bed of parsnip mash with cabbage and carrot, all with a splash of a rich gravy.  The meat was so tender it just fell apart.  You could cut it with the handle of your knife with little or no difficulty if you chose to.  A plate packed full of big, rich flavours indeed, but again there was simply too much of it.  I was determined to make it to the homemade deserts, so I'm ashamed to admit that the venison beat both of us.  It was that or go without the amoretto parfait, after all!

A short list of homemade deserts on another blackboard gave rise to the next tough decision of the night.  For Dee it was simple, she was beaten by the sheer volume of dinner and couldn't even be tempted to have the apple and plum crumble, so I knew she was serious.  For me though, there were a few serious contenders, but the parfait won in the end and I'm glad it did because it was fantastic.  For once the portion size was perfect.  It was smooth, creamy, tasty, and perfectly accompanied by a generous pile of griottines (small red cherries soaked in kirsch) and a few raspberries.

It certainly wasn't a cheap meal, but it was all beautifully cooked and presented.  Starters were between £6.50 and £9 and most main courses were £16 - £20.  I am sure we'll come back here again, but perhaps we won't eat for a day or so either side of our visit.  All in all a lovely place with friendly staff, great atmosphere, good food and excellent beer.  Well worth the trouble of finding it, wear trousers with an elasticated waist though!  The highly sought after Fatfoodie seal of approval is indeed awarded.

Fatfoodie adventures in Stoke!

Yes, I know it's not in Kent.  Again.  But there was good food to be had in Stoke!  Well....I say "in" Stoke, obviously I don't actually mean "in Stoke"....I mean near Stoke.  Alright, so not in Stoke at all, in Trentham and in Stone....but they're close enough, ok?

Anyway....the food.  Dee and I took the last few bits Josie needed for the start of her last year at Staffordshire University last weekend.  We stayed in the Travelodge (don't ask, and certainly don't go there!) at Trentham on the outskirts of Stoke-on-Trent.  Trentham Gardens is home to a great little place called The Pie Minister, a sort of modern take on the old pie and mash shops of my youth!  It was a light, airy, log cabin type unit with brightly coloured posters and info about their pies around the walls.

For a very reasonable price (about a fiver) they do a home cooked pie of your choice from a list of about a dozen with mash and red wine gravy.  For about £7.20 they do something called "The Mothership".  To my surprise Josie (who hasn't got the largest appetite) opted for the Mothership with a Thai Chook pie.  This comprised a lovely thai chicken green curry pie, a double helping of mash, a dollop of minted mushy peas, red wine gravy and sprinkles of crispy fried onions and grated cheddar.  Quite a plate-full.  I was even more surprised when she came very close indeed to finishing off the lot!  I opted for a PM pie mothership, but with a single helping of mash.  The PM pie is their signature dish, it's a sort of cross between steak and kidney and beef and veg pie.  Good decision to go for single mash, I can tell you.  There was still plenty of it.  Dee wasn't all that hungry, but she still managed to put away a large sausage roll with mash and gravy.

They sell t-shirts with "Keep Calm & Eat More Pies" on the front, and all the staff wear them as uniform.  I would have bought one, but they were so flimsy I didn't feel they were worth the tenner asking price.  All in all, very good quality and fantastic value food.  An ideal lunch stop on an autumn shopping day, hot and filling, lots of choice, worth a visit!

I've done this in the wrong order really, because Pie Minister was Sunday lunch, but dinner Saturday night turned out to be pretty good too.  We went to a village a few miles outside Stoke called Stone to revisit a pub / steakhouse that Ben and Jen took us to on our last visit.  Sadly for them, the ovens weren't working on that occasion so the menu choice was seriously limited.  Not so this time!

 The pub is in two halves with a large central bar area.  To one side is a very modern feeling disco type pub, complete with bar stocked with several fruit flavoured ciders, alcopops and any number of fizzy beers.  The other side though is a rather nice, modern feeling restaurant which feels much more like a wine bar than a pub.  Fortunately for me, there were a couple of good real ales on, Marsden's Pedigree and Jenning's Cocker Hoop (which I felt it was in the interest of my loyal readers to try).

The menu was also in two halves.  On one side was a selection of fish dishes, ribs, and the usual gastro-pub type offerings, and on the back was a grill and hot-stones menu.  As you'd expect, prices ranged from
around £7 to £16 for main courses.  We dispensed with starters in the vain hope that we might have room for a desert, and dived straight in to the main courses.  Our waiter and waitress were friendly, chatty, and knowledgeable.  They explained the menu and the three steak specials on offer.  We could have chosen an ostrich steak, a buffalo steak or something called a bistro steak.  Dee opted for the latter, which turned out to be a nice thick beef rump steak cut from a particular part of the rump that makes it almost as tender as fillet but with all the meaty flavour of rump.  This came topped with a fried duck egg, chips and mushrooms.  Josie and I weren't in the mood to be refined, so we both chose the rack of pork ribs, but with different sauces.  I went for Jack Daniels BBQ, while Josie chose hoi-sin.  I have to admit, although they were both good, her sauce was better.

It's hard to do anything too imaginative with ribs, but putting a good sauce on them is a great start!  If there's one thing I love it's slow cooked ribs where the meat just falls off the bone.  I cut the end one off the rack, picked up the end of the rib itself, and by the time I'd got it to my mouth the meat was back on the plate leaving just the clean bone in my hand!  Spot on.  The coleslaw was very good too, high quality supplier or home made, I'm not sure which.  I've never been a big fan of the whole hot stones idea, I'm not sure I want to pay extra for the joy of still having to cook my own dinner.  I want chef to cook it for me please, I'm sure he'll do a better job of it.

In spite of a good choice of deserts, we only had room to share one between the three of us.  We had the house speciality, a hot baked cookie still in the iron skillet it was cooked in with a dollop of vanilla ice-cream.  The waitress warned us that the skillet was still very hot indeed, but both the girls still managed to burn themselves on it!  They both agreed it was worth it though.

Next time we visit Stoke we will probably revisit both the Steakhouse and the Pie Minister again.  If you're in the area and hungry you could do worse than do the same.

The Chequers, Laddingford

The Chequers in Laddingford is a lovely looking village pub dating from the 15th century. There are about half a dozen car parking spaces at the front, but no shortage of space out on the road within a few yards.  My first impression of The Chequers was that it could have been really nice, but somehow didn't quite manage it. Although there were three good real ales on (as well as the usual array of fizzy stuff) and the ceilings were dripping with dark oak beams, it simply wasn't a comfortable feeling place. Possibly not helped by the large group of regulars blocking the vast majority of the bar itself, leaving just enough room for one person to be served at a time. Particularly galling as every single table was free.  In spite of this fact, we were still shown to the table right in front of the door to the toilets.

The beer, as it turns out, was excellent! A special brew from a Cornish brewer called Skinners to celebrate the Rugby World Cup, called Splendid Tackle.  At 4.2%, fruity and well balanced, it was so delicious I was forced to try a second pint to check the first one wasn't a fluke!

There was a specials board that included homemade sausages with mash. How often do you see homemade sausages on offer in a pub? I wish I'd tried them, to be honest, but more of that later. The main menu had many of the staple pub-grub dishes, and several interesting alternatives including a choice of three or four sharing platters. On a chilly evening the steak and ale pudding is sure to warm you up. For those looking for a lighter option, there is baked salmon, sole goujons, a burger with a choice of cheddar or stilton on top and a few other choices.   Prices ranged from around £5.95 for the light-bites up to £16.95 for the most expensive main course.  Deserts were all around £4.50.

Dee and I opted to share a starter of nachos, and it's a good job we didn't go for a portion each because there was enough for four to share! There was plenty of melted cheese, large dollops of salsa, sour cream and guacamole, and a generous helping of sliced jalapinos. It wasn't much to look at, but it was very tasty!

We are both big fans of sharing platters (and I'm a sucker for a buffet!) so we opted for the sharing fish, chips & dips platter. When it arrived there were sole goujons, haddock kievs, prawn wontons, prawns in filo pastry and butterfly prawns in light breadcrumbs, along with a huge bowl of the best homemade chips I've had in ages. There were three generous pots of dips, a garlic mayonnaise, a sweet chilli sauce and a homemade tartar sauce that was a little sharp for Dee but fine for me. Unfortunately both the haddock kievs were both cold, so the barmaid took them away and brought us some fresh ones. Even more unfortunately, although these were hot on the outside they were both still frozen in the middle. Although this was disappointing, particularly as it was the kievs I was most looking forward to, there was enough on the platter that we were both close to full anyway. Actually, the chips deserve a special mention, so nice to find good chips in a pub that weren't tipped into the fryer out of a Brake Bros plastic bag fresh out of the freezer!

We chose our deserts from a short menu of about seven or eight puddings. In order to give the kitchen a chance to redeem themselves after the poor effort with the kievs we both opted for homemade deserts. Dee went for the apple and mixed berry crumble with custard (who'd have thought it!) and I chose the pecan and maple tart with pouring cream. The crumble was good, but the tart was fantastic! Absolutely delicious.  Again, not much to look at, but I'd order the pecan tart again like a shot. 

With no prompting from us, when the bill arrived the waitress explained that they had not charged us for the fish & chip platter at all, despite the fact that we ate 90% of it!  A combination of the good beer, excellent deserts and this generosity would certainly have been enough to encourage us to return, but the lack of atmosphere, and if I'm totally honest (and a bit snobby) the attitude and language of the regulars make it unlikely that we will. Shame, because I get the feeling it could have been really nice.