It’s probably 20 years or so since we last came to this pub for lunch. It had another name then and, although they did food, it was much more a place for drinkers. It’s been through a couple of reincarnations since then (with names relating to the adjacent railway station). It reopened last October after renovation and is now very much majoring on diners. I suppose you might describe the food as “modern pub grub” – not a gammon steak in sight.
We went straight for main courses. Sausages made from pork, haggis and black pudding promised much and, whilst they were very savoury, the haggis and black pud didn’t really feature much. Maybe they would have been missed if they weren’t there. Came with potato and apple mash (couldn’t taste the apple), cabbage and a zingy grain mustard gravy. No sign of the promised crispy onions. An unusual thing to come across in the UK, the other dish was an American Reuben sandwich. And very nice it was too – baguette filled with salt beef, Emmental cheese, sauerkraut and mustard mayo. Came with salad and fries.
Having skipped starters, we found we did have room for dessert. Four layer chocolate fudge cake came slightly warm with a blob of vanilla ice cream. Rich and gooey – no complaints there. And an apple and blackberry crumble with custard. A bit too much crumble topping in the ratio to the fruit, we thought.
Enjoyable lunch, with attentive service. It was very busy on a Friday lunchtime but we were just about able to get a table without having booked.
