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| - Companion and I had lunch at this restaurant. This was our second visit, with our first having been about a year ago.
We were promptly seated and offered drinks. Unfortunately, their selection of non-sugared drinks is rather sparse and I ended up having tea with no lemon. Fortunately, being a "British" restaurant they have an idea of what tea should taste like and no harm done.
Companion and I started of with a Scotch egg. It was cooked nicely, and served cut into quarters to make our sharing easier. The egg is served with what I surmised to be Coleman's English Mustard, which I really enjoyed. Most Scotch eggs served in the U.S. are made with regular seasoned pork sausage, which is highly seasoned compared to English sausage, however this sausage was perfectly seasoned in the true English tradition.
Next came the main dishes. Companion ordered the Steak and Kidney Pie and I ordered Bangers and Mash.
While the Steak and Kidney Pie was but a shadow of the real thing one would get in any pub (even at a roadside on the M5) the flavor was acceptable, however the kidney was nothing but mince. The pie was more like a Cornish Pasty than a true baked small pie. The pie came with no accompaniments whereas in the U.K. it usually comes with a side of mash and some mushy peas.
My Bangers and Mash arrived and was nicely plated. Unfortunately, that was the only good thing about the dish. The Bangers, while nicely cooked were loaded with salt. I thought that perhaps one of them had received some extra seasoning during the creation process, but alas, taking a bite from the second one revealed the same extreme amount of salt. The mash was acceptable, and was made from Yukon Gold potatoes, but the peas, which we were told were brought in from Boston were shriveled and lacking flavor. This plate was inedible. Companion, who the doctor had just prescribe a much higher amount of salt in her diet ate some of the Bangers to comply with her doctor's wishes. Speaking for myself, I finished three large glasses of Iced Tea and later stopped at a local McDonald's for a large soft drink.
The bathroom was nice and clean and it appeared that the restaurant was also clean. Tables were bussed regularly and wiped down.
2 stars for cleanliness and pleasant service.
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