It's getting harder and harder to find pubs that we haven't
already visited, so after a bit of tinternet trawling, I came across Samuel's
Rest. Turns out, it's another pub that I've never been to, but Dad has, many
years back. So our course was set, and a new adventure lay in wait.
I think it's fair to say we received an indifferent welcome
at the bar as we enquired about food and drinks. This is a shame, as we know
from experience how much difference a warm welcome can make to your time in a
pub, especially one you haven't been to before. Bravely marching on, we took a
table in the corner and got stuck in to the menu. I have to say, we both found
it to be a slightly unusual one. The prices weren't bad, many meals on offer
just over £10, but it was all a bit disjointed. There is a lot of emphasis on
burgers, which in itself isn't a bad thing, but it all went a bit far. There
was of course your classic beef burger, as well as chicken, lamb, venison, and
about five different vegetarian burgers, which to be honest all got a bit
confusing. Never the less, as the burgers seemed to be a big thing here, I
opted for the chicken version. Dad picked out the steak and kidney pudding with
mash.
We made several mental notes as we waited for our food, and
I shall lay them out for you now. There were two fires in the pub, but neither
were in action. I always feel a bit sad when a pub fire isn't roaring. It lends
a wonderful cosy atmosphere, as well as the obvious warming qualities. The
walls were festooned with paintings which are for sale, the one next to our
table was up for £75. There was music playing in the pub, but it was only on one
side, so our half was a bit quiet, which I suppose may suit some people. Last
week, we discussed the acceptable time to wait for your food in a pub. We
decided that around 15 minutes was about right, depending on how busy things
are. There were four tables eating, including us, so we were a bit surprised
when that time came and went. It was actually over 30 minutes before our meals
appeared. It was even more of a surprise to see a specials board appear after
us and two of the other tables had already ordered.
My chicken burger came with a choice of fries or gourmet
chips, I of course chose the latter. I'm not sure they qualified as such. They
were in fact big frozen chips, but were fine. The burger itself was fairly
small, and closely related to the Birdseye family. The coleslaw was good, and
the accompanying salad was very good and surprisingly substantial. Although we
are pretty sure Dad's pudding wasn't made on site, he said it was excellent,
and his mash was also very nice in deed. The portion sizes were certainly healthy,
both of us struggling to finish, and in all, it wasn't a bad showing for the
money.
The food we experienced here wasn't bad, neither was it out
of this world, it was very much of this world. We think it's safe to say that
much of the produce on offer isn't made in the pub kitchen, more prepared.
Despite this, it wouldn't be fair to say we were disappointed. Dad particularly
enjoyed his steak and kidney pudding. As with so many pubs, there are some
basic fundamentals which could be addressed, but you could certainly do worse.
Atmosphere 6.5
Service 5
Food 6.5
Value 7.5
Verdict 3.5*
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