Happened to be passing by IKEA on this Wednesday just passed, and noticed that they've brought out not juts the Xmas ornaments but also the food in the food court. Time to stock up on julmust!
Julmust is an old, classic softdrink that keeps outselling Coca-Cola around Xmas time in Sweden. It's bubbly and brown and you might make the mistake in thinking it'll taste like Coke/Pepsi. It doesn't. (I made that mistake the first time I ever tried Dr. Pepper: "it looks like Coke, so it must taste like it" ...it really didn't.) In fact, it has more to do with beer than with anything else, but it doesn't taste of beer either.
Here's what's in it: Carbonated water, sugar, glucose-fructose syrup, food colouring (E150C), aroma (from hops and barley malt, etc.), acidity regulator: citric acid, spice extracts, preservatives E211.
IKEA sell it in 50 cl (0.5 l, i.e about a pint) bottles every Xmas, although they sometimes run out the closer it gets. Probably a lot to do with ex-pat Swedes who think of IKEA's food court as a good (if very limited) source of things from back home. Things you can't get anywhere else, and that's essential if you're celebrating a Swedish Xmas. Such as julmust. The kind they sell is "Nygårda" from Spendrups. (Personally, it's second best. The best one is made by Apotekarnes, but stay clear of the diet/light versions of any brand... they have no depth of flavour!)
The drink was invented in 1910 as an alcohol free alternative to beer, but it would be fairly pointless to just repeat what it says on Wikipedia, when you can just go straight there and read - so if you want to learn more about it, here's a place to go: Wikipedia: Julmust.
Friday 9 October 2009
Pipers Parsnip Crisps
One of the things we picked up from the food festival was a 40g bag of Pipers Parsnip Crisps of the Biggleswade Sweet Chilli variety. "Made by farmers" the logo says and there's a picture of an old, red tractor on the front. It's freshly sliced parsnips that have been batch fried in sunflower oil with spicing added. All made here in Britain.
We quite like root veg crisps, but they can be a little dull. Not these ones, however! The sweet chilli brings in some good flavours. Not particularly hot, but still nice and warming. Good crunch to them, and we'd recommend them.
Ingredients: Parsnips, Sunflower Oil, Chilli, Paprika, Vinegar Powder (Maltodextrin, Vinegar), Rice Flour, Garlic, Sugar, Salt, Yeast Extract, Maltodextrin, Lemon Juice, Chilli Infused Rapeseed Oil, Natural Colour: Paprika, Oregano.
For more information, see www.piperscrisps.com, a company based in Elsham, north Lincolnshire.
We quite like root veg crisps, but they can be a little dull. Not these ones, however! The sweet chilli brings in some good flavours. Not particularly hot, but still nice and warming. Good crunch to them, and we'd recommend them.
Ingredients: Parsnips, Sunflower Oil, Chilli, Paprika, Vinegar Powder (Maltodextrin, Vinegar), Rice Flour, Garlic, Sugar, Salt, Yeast Extract, Maltodextrin, Lemon Juice, Chilli Infused Rapeseed Oil, Natural Colour: Paprika, Oregano.
For more information, see www.piperscrisps.com, a company based in Elsham, north Lincolnshire.
Sunday 4 October 2009
Annual beer festival this weekend!
October in Nottingham means the annual CAMRA Real Ale festival, or, the Nottingham Robin Hood Beer Festival, as it's also called. Hundreds of beers, ciders, perries, wines and other tipples available, and it all kicks off on Thursday, on the grounds of Nottingham Castle. The essentials are as follows:
Opening times
Thur 8th October: 11.00am to 11.00pm
Fri 9th October: 11.00am to 11.00pm
Sat 10th October: 11.00am to 11.00pm
Sun 11th October: 12noon to 3.00pm
Admission prices
£5 per person (CAMRA members £2.50)
Souvenir glass tankards £2.50
Beer tokens £1.25 per half pint
More information: CAMRA Nottingham Robin Hood Beer Festival official website
Oh, apparently this year, they're also going to have comedy on Friday and Saturday night. Looking forward to that!
Opening times
Thur 8th October: 11.00am to 11.00pm
Fri 9th October: 11.00am to 11.00pm
Sat 10th October: 11.00am to 11.00pm
Sun 11th October: 12noon to 3.00pm
Admission prices
£5 per person (CAMRA members £2.50)
Souvenir glass tankards £2.50
Beer tokens £1.25 per half pint
More information: CAMRA Nottingham Robin Hood Beer Festival official website
Oh, apparently this year, they're also going to have comedy on Friday and Saturday night. Looking forward to that!
Alpine Restaurant (Ashfordby Hill): Review
Alpine Restaurant
The Grange Village
Asfordby Hill
Melton Mowbray
Leicestershire
LE14 3QU
01664 812 802
Website | Email
Visit: October 2009
Summary: Disappointed. Good for a coffee, for food, go visit the farm shop.
Tucked away near a Leicestershire village, the Grange is a collection of little shops, like a garden centre, a gift shop, a sports shop, a gun (!) shop and a farm shop. Attached to it is a restaurant, called the Alpine Restaurant.
We had been there the year before, as we drove from the East Midlands Food Festival - which is exactly what we did this year as well. We had totally forgotten that after last year, we wanted to have lunch at the restaurant, so we shouldn't have bothered having anything proper to eat at the festival... well... we decided to have a coffee and a dessert.
Drinks: Nothing to say about the coffee (actually, it was two mochas, but still... there was coffee involved!), because it was okay, and nice and warm on a chilly day.
Dessert: The dessert we decided on sharing was a rasperry jam crumble pie with custard (£4.50). The custard didn't really have any flavour. The crumble pie was only warm-ish where the warm custard had been poured over it, because the rest was cold. The pastry was quite nice, but the crumble top... it had pools of un-melted caster sugar on top. It really wasn't pleasant.
Service: Felt like it took a bit longer than it should've for what we ordered and how it was delivered (i.e. pie straight from the fridge with what was probably microwaved ready-made custard). Instead of waiting for someone to come by so we could ask for a bill, we went up and paid at the counter instead.
Inside: It's called Alpine for a reason: it's styled in an alpine hut type way: lots and lots of wood. Big, rustic wooden furniture (loooks great!), wooden walls, old, wooden skis on the walls, pictures of alpine resorts and that sort of thing. It looks very cosy and quaint.
Outside: It's quite hidden away, but well signposted. After a bit of a drive through a narrow passage among the trees, it opens up to a gravelled yard with a decent amount of parking spaces. Looks inviting.
The Grange Village: We didn't go to the farm shop this year, but we went last year. Lots of different local food, organic food and such. This is the home of Brockleby's Farm, a producer we like to get lamb meat from at our local farmer's market. That's a post in itself, so won't go into detail here. (Highly recommended, though!) The sports shop has some different clothing options, the gift shop has various gifts and things for the home, and the garden centre didn't seem to have a big indoor selection, but maybe we just didn't look very closely.
All in all, knowing how good the Brockleby's food is, we expected the restaurant food to be just as impressive... and it wasn't. The restaurant does look quite amazing inside, but the chairs aren't that comfortable and they're quite heavy to move. It did seem like you get rather generous portions if you go for a cake slice, and they had plenty of cakes to choose from. The pie wasn't a bad size, it was a pretty standard 2-3 inches wide on the outside, but yeah, we weren't all that impressed with it.
Not sure we'd skip lunch at the food festival next year in order to have proper food at the Alpine Restaurant, because if the dessert is anything to go by, a lunch would leave us wishing we had just bought a Brockleby's pie from the farm shop next door and had it when we got home! There's just no way of knowing, aside from going back next time we're in the area... which is probably in a year's time, when the food festival is next on...
The Grange Village
Asfordby Hill
Melton Mowbray
Leicestershire
LE14 3QU
01664 812 802
Website | Email
Visit: October 2009
Summary: Disappointed. Good for a coffee, for food, go visit the farm shop.
Tucked away near a Leicestershire village, the Grange is a collection of little shops, like a garden centre, a gift shop, a sports shop, a gun (!) shop and a farm shop. Attached to it is a restaurant, called the Alpine Restaurant.
We had been there the year before, as we drove from the East Midlands Food Festival - which is exactly what we did this year as well. We had totally forgotten that after last year, we wanted to have lunch at the restaurant, so we shouldn't have bothered having anything proper to eat at the festival... well... we decided to have a coffee and a dessert.
Drinks: Nothing to say about the coffee (actually, it was two mochas, but still... there was coffee involved!), because it was okay, and nice and warm on a chilly day.
Dessert: The dessert we decided on sharing was a rasperry jam crumble pie with custard (£4.50). The custard didn't really have any flavour. The crumble pie was only warm-ish where the warm custard had been poured over it, because the rest was cold. The pastry was quite nice, but the crumble top... it had pools of un-melted caster sugar on top. It really wasn't pleasant.
Service: Felt like it took a bit longer than it should've for what we ordered and how it was delivered (i.e. pie straight from the fridge with what was probably microwaved ready-made custard). Instead of waiting for someone to come by so we could ask for a bill, we went up and paid at the counter instead.
Inside: It's called Alpine for a reason: it's styled in an alpine hut type way: lots and lots of wood. Big, rustic wooden furniture (loooks great!), wooden walls, old, wooden skis on the walls, pictures of alpine resorts and that sort of thing. It looks very cosy and quaint.
Outside: It's quite hidden away, but well signposted. After a bit of a drive through a narrow passage among the trees, it opens up to a gravelled yard with a decent amount of parking spaces. Looks inviting.
The Grange Village: We didn't go to the farm shop this year, but we went last year. Lots of different local food, organic food and such. This is the home of Brockleby's Farm, a producer we like to get lamb meat from at our local farmer's market. That's a post in itself, so won't go into detail here. (Highly recommended, though!) The sports shop has some different clothing options, the gift shop has various gifts and things for the home, and the garden centre didn't seem to have a big indoor selection, but maybe we just didn't look very closely.
All in all, knowing how good the Brockleby's food is, we expected the restaurant food to be just as impressive... and it wasn't. The restaurant does look quite amazing inside, but the chairs aren't that comfortable and they're quite heavy to move. It did seem like you get rather generous portions if you go for a cake slice, and they had plenty of cakes to choose from. The pie wasn't a bad size, it was a pretty standard 2-3 inches wide on the outside, but yeah, we weren't all that impressed with it.
Not sure we'd skip lunch at the food festival next year in order to have proper food at the Alpine Restaurant, because if the dessert is anything to go by, a lunch would leave us wishing we had just bought a Brockleby's pie from the farm shop next door and had it when we got home! There's just no way of knowing, aside from going back next time we're in the area... which is probably in a year's time, when the food festival is next on...
USA Fried Chicken (Hucknall): Review
USA Fried Chicken
27a High Street
Hucknall
Nottingham
Nottinghamshire
NG15 7AW
0115 963 2877
Visit: October 2009
Summary: Almost, but not quite, completely unlike KFC. Except KFC is a lot nicer.
We were in Hucknall for the day, and decided on some quick and easy takeaway food. We had got some fries from this place before, and thought they were quite nice. Very crispy, and that's the way fries should be. That's why we decided to try some of their other food.
You would've thought it's a fairly straight order to have a mix of two meats with chips. (Didn't want the third type of meat, as the little that was left on the spit... well, it looked like it had been there for ages.) The guy who served us suggested we instead go for the "mixed kebab" as that'd be cheaper (£6) instead of ordering the two kinds of kebab separately (£4.80 each). Very confusing. We didn't say we wanted two separate kebabs. At least it had some flavour, although we have had nicer kebabs from other places.
The chicken and lamb were cooked then and there. The chicken fillets for the burgers were pre-done and in a heater, assembled in a bun with some lettuce and some mayo (£2.80, I believe). Not very impressive to look at - and more importantly, definitely not to eat. The coating didn't seem like it had much flavour, nor did the rest of the chicken.
The fries were crispy, but the flavour didn't really impress. Tasted more greasy this time (or maybe we were just really hungry last time so didn't notice as much), and felt like a let-down. Don't McDonald's or Burger King do better fries, come to think of it?
USA Fried Chicken is conveniently located on the high street in Hucknall, so easy to get to if you're in the center of town, and easily recognised by the sign, which has a chicken on it. The inside's a bit tired and the menu display has pictures that doesn't help with making you decide on what to eat - there are drumsticks and what looks like processed and shaped chicken pieces. It doesn't look particularly appetising. The food wasn't bad, it just didn't really deliver on flavour and texture, and frankly, I'd rather go to a KFC. At least you know what you're getting. Next time we're in town and fancy a takeaway, we'll go somewhere else.
27a High Street
Hucknall
Nottingham
Nottinghamshire
NG15 7AW
0115 963 2877
Visit: October 2009
Summary: Almost, but not quite, completely unlike KFC. Except KFC is a lot nicer.
We were in Hucknall for the day, and decided on some quick and easy takeaway food. We had got some fries from this place before, and thought they were quite nice. Very crispy, and that's the way fries should be. That's why we decided to try some of their other food.
You would've thought it's a fairly straight order to have a mix of two meats with chips. (Didn't want the third type of meat, as the little that was left on the spit... well, it looked like it had been there for ages.) The guy who served us suggested we instead go for the "mixed kebab" as that'd be cheaper (£6) instead of ordering the two kinds of kebab separately (£4.80 each). Very confusing. We didn't say we wanted two separate kebabs. At least it had some flavour, although we have had nicer kebabs from other places.
The chicken and lamb were cooked then and there. The chicken fillets for the burgers were pre-done and in a heater, assembled in a bun with some lettuce and some mayo (£2.80, I believe). Not very impressive to look at - and more importantly, definitely not to eat. The coating didn't seem like it had much flavour, nor did the rest of the chicken.
The fries were crispy, but the flavour didn't really impress. Tasted more greasy this time (or maybe we were just really hungry last time so didn't notice as much), and felt like a let-down. Don't McDonald's or Burger King do better fries, come to think of it?
USA Fried Chicken is conveniently located on the high street in Hucknall, so easy to get to if you're in the center of town, and easily recognised by the sign, which has a chicken on it. The inside's a bit tired and the menu display has pictures that doesn't help with making you decide on what to eat - there are drumsticks and what looks like processed and shaped chicken pieces. It doesn't look particularly appetising. The food wasn't bad, it just didn't really deliver on flavour and texture, and frankly, I'd rather go to a KFC. At least you know what you're getting. Next time we're in town and fancy a takeaway, we'll go somewhere else.
Tuesday 15 September 2009
The Hemlock Stone & Dragon (Wollaton): Review
The Hemlock Stone and Dragon
Bramcote Lane
Wollaton
Nottingham
NG8 2QQ
0115 928 4463
Website | No email listed
Visit: September 2009
Summary: Beautiful food and good value.
First time we went was with work, where we sampled a finger food buffet, which we both quite enjoyed. We decided to meet up with some friends here, and to our surprise, it turned out to not be a fairly standard, British pub - it's also a Thai restaurant! And a great one to boot! Thai restaurants are normally a bit higher in price than some other restaurants, but this one offered very good value, and the food both fulfilled and exceeded our expectations.
Starters: We were four people sharing the Kingfisher and the Tiger Platters (£9.95 for each, both serve two). They were out of duck spring rolls, so we got the vegetable ones instead, but they didn't disappoint! Normally, spring rolls aren't that interesting, but these ones were very tasty indeed. Both platters came with sweet chilli sauce and satay sauce for dipping, and all the food was well cooked and full of flavours.
Mains: Lamb Massaman (£6.95): "A mild curry flavoured with coconut milk, cinnamon and peanuts. Garnished with diced potato, crisp shallots and ground peanuts. Served with Thai fragrant rice." Pad Gai Med Mamuang Himmaparn (£6.45): "Chicken stir-fried with cashew nuts, pineapple and dried chillies in light soy sauce. Served with Thai fragrant rice." The lamb was perhaps not as tender as it could have been, but we were too distracted by the fantastic fragrant, spicy sauce to care. The stir-fry was a bit more standard, although that standard was rather high.
Desserts: They have a selection of both British and oriental desserts that sounded very tempting, but we were too full from a lovely dinner to order any!
Service: A bit on the slow side, but it was a very busy Friday night, so we're not surprised.
Inside: Bar separated from restaurant area. Contemporary décor, seems to have been done up recently. Not afraid of colour - in a good way! Relaxing atmosphere. The Thai restaurant part has darker colours and is tasteful and not gaudy, like you get in some places.
Outside: On the Wollaton Vale/Bramcote Lane roundabout, so close to the main Wollaton shopping street, close to buses. Easy access and plenty of parking.
We came there expecting a British pub with some decent food, judging from the buffet we had tried previously, and came away with bellies full of delicious Thai food. They stop serving the more traditional English pub food at 6pm, and after that there's only the Thai. The place was busy, as we went there on a Friday night, but you can make restaurant reservations if you want to sit in the proper restaurant part. We sat in the in-between area, where the only option was the limited "pub menu" as opposed to the full à la carte menu, and you can't order from the restaurant menu in what's effectively classed as the bar.
Would we go here again? Absolutely. Not only was it a good night out, it was a nice place to dine and the food was great. Perhaps not the Best Ever Thai we've ever had, but close enough. Besides, if we go on a different night than the Friday, maybe it won't be as busy.
The Hemlock Stone & Dragon have partners all over the country. Oh, and they also do collection only takeout. For takeout, they seem to have the whole à la carte restaurant menu on offer as well.
Bramcote Lane
Wollaton
Nottingham
NG8 2QQ
0115 928 4463
Website | No email listed
Visit: September 2009
Summary: Beautiful food and good value.
First time we went was with work, where we sampled a finger food buffet, which we both quite enjoyed. We decided to meet up with some friends here, and to our surprise, it turned out to not be a fairly standard, British pub - it's also a Thai restaurant! And a great one to boot! Thai restaurants are normally a bit higher in price than some other restaurants, but this one offered very good value, and the food both fulfilled and exceeded our expectations.
Starters: We were four people sharing the Kingfisher and the Tiger Platters (£9.95 for each, both serve two). They were out of duck spring rolls, so we got the vegetable ones instead, but they didn't disappoint! Normally, spring rolls aren't that interesting, but these ones were very tasty indeed. Both platters came with sweet chilli sauce and satay sauce for dipping, and all the food was well cooked and full of flavours.
Mains: Lamb Massaman (£6.95): "A mild curry flavoured with coconut milk, cinnamon and peanuts. Garnished with diced potato, crisp shallots and ground peanuts. Served with Thai fragrant rice." Pad Gai Med Mamuang Himmaparn (£6.45): "Chicken stir-fried with cashew nuts, pineapple and dried chillies in light soy sauce. Served with Thai fragrant rice." The lamb was perhaps not as tender as it could have been, but we were too distracted by the fantastic fragrant, spicy sauce to care. The stir-fry was a bit more standard, although that standard was rather high.
Desserts: They have a selection of both British and oriental desserts that sounded very tempting, but we were too full from a lovely dinner to order any!
Service: A bit on the slow side, but it was a very busy Friday night, so we're not surprised.
Inside: Bar separated from restaurant area. Contemporary décor, seems to have been done up recently. Not afraid of colour - in a good way! Relaxing atmosphere. The Thai restaurant part has darker colours and is tasteful and not gaudy, like you get in some places.
Outside: On the Wollaton Vale/Bramcote Lane roundabout, so close to the main Wollaton shopping street, close to buses. Easy access and plenty of parking.
We came there expecting a British pub with some decent food, judging from the buffet we had tried previously, and came away with bellies full of delicious Thai food. They stop serving the more traditional English pub food at 6pm, and after that there's only the Thai. The place was busy, as we went there on a Friday night, but you can make restaurant reservations if you want to sit in the proper restaurant part. We sat in the in-between area, where the only option was the limited "pub menu" as opposed to the full à la carte menu, and you can't order from the restaurant menu in what's effectively classed as the bar.
Would we go here again? Absolutely. Not only was it a good night out, it was a nice place to dine and the food was great. Perhaps not the Best Ever Thai we've ever had, but close enough. Besides, if we go on a different night than the Friday, maybe it won't be as busy.
The Hemlock Stone & Dragon have partners all over the country. Oh, and they also do collection only takeout. For takeout, they seem to have the whole à la carte restaurant menu on offer as well.
Larwood & Voce (West Bridgford): Review
The Larwood and Voce Pub and Kitchen
Fox Road
West Bridgford
Nottingham
NG2 6AJ
0115 981 9960
Website | Email
Visit: September 2009
Summary: Disappointing. Over-salted and over-priced.
This Bridgford gastropub has a very promising menu, lots of things that sound very tasty. Because of the style of pub, the higher prices are to be expected, but it also means expectations go up. Granted, we visited on a fairly busy night as members of a party, but that doesn't hide the fact that the food wasn't quite up to scratch. Not to say that we are food experts by any stretch of the imagination, but we can tell the difference between seriously good food and average food - and this was average, at best.
Starters: We had potted duck and a pork terrine, both around £5 each. The potted duck came in a cute little glass container with lid (like a smaller version of one of these) and was served at room temperature. It didn't taste of duck very much and felt very greasy. It was served with some toast, one of the slices half-burned. The pork terrine was served cold on a bed of lettuce which had seen better days - parts of it was brown and mushy. It had a nice flavour, went very well with the apple sauce it came with. Tasty, not outstanding.
Mains: Roast chicken with sage roasted new potatoes and gravy (£12.50) and - lifted straight from the online menu - Grilled Manor farm sirloin (16oz on the bone) chips in dripping & Bérnaise sauce (£19.95). The sirloin was ordered medium/rare... came in medium/well done. The allegedly award-winning chips didn't seem any different from the one we could get in a local chippy, for a fraction of the cost. The béarnaise sauce we have in a packet in the kitchen cupboard had a nicer flavour and doesn't seem to just be some fatty bit without flavour! The chicken was quite small with some overly salted potatoes on the side, some overly salted and very crispy sliced broad (?) beans. For the cost, we were expecting a lot more than this. If it had been a big chain pub with 2-for-1 offers, fair enough, but for a pub which makes itself out to be a great restaurant, it was a big let-down. If we go out, we do so to be wowed by people who are better cooks than ourselves, but I think we would've had a much nicer meal at home, to be honest.
Desserts: Sticky toffee pudding with banana ice cream and a chocolate tart with hazelnuts and whipped cream, both around £5. The chocolate tart didn't seem to taste much of chocolate, and we expected the hazelnuts to be sort of integrated in it, not sprinkled on top, but it was a nice slice. The sticky toffee pudding was rather nice, as it happened. Good flavour, sticky, spungy and warm.
Service: A bit on the slow side, but we were part of a large-ish party, so that it takes some time before food comes out is to be expected, really.
Inside: Standard pub, nothing special. Bar separated from restaurant area.
Outside: It's a big building next to the Trent Bridge cricket ground, doesn't seem to have enough parking spots.
Earlier in the day, we had looked at the menu on the website and thought it sounded really nice, looked forward to the evening. Once we got there, we were just disappointed, unfortunately. We would not decide to dine there again based on this experience, as there are better establishments in the area. On the plus side, they source all their ingredients locally and the bread we had before the starters came in was lovely, even if the butter tasted a bit funny.
It was an okay meal, but that's all. If we had wanted an okay meal, we can just go to a place like the Harvester and only pay half the price. If we're going to spend over £30 on main courses alone, we expect something rather delicious, not "we could've done this better at home". We would've at least expected the steak to be as ordered...
The Larwood & Voce are a part of the local Mole Face Pub Company, who also run the Lord Nelson in Burton Joyce and the Wollaton in Wollaton. We might try those out as well, at some point. Maybe.
Fox Road
West Bridgford
Nottingham
NG2 6AJ
0115 981 9960
Website | Email
Visit: September 2009
Summary: Disappointing. Over-salted and over-priced.
This Bridgford gastropub has a very promising menu, lots of things that sound very tasty. Because of the style of pub, the higher prices are to be expected, but it also means expectations go up. Granted, we visited on a fairly busy night as members of a party, but that doesn't hide the fact that the food wasn't quite up to scratch. Not to say that we are food experts by any stretch of the imagination, but we can tell the difference between seriously good food and average food - and this was average, at best.
Starters: We had potted duck and a pork terrine, both around £5 each. The potted duck came in a cute little glass container with lid (like a smaller version of one of these) and was served at room temperature. It didn't taste of duck very much and felt very greasy. It was served with some toast, one of the slices half-burned. The pork terrine was served cold on a bed of lettuce which had seen better days - parts of it was brown and mushy. It had a nice flavour, went very well with the apple sauce it came with. Tasty, not outstanding.
Mains: Roast chicken with sage roasted new potatoes and gravy (£12.50) and - lifted straight from the online menu - Grilled Manor farm sirloin (16oz on the bone) chips in dripping & Bérnaise sauce (£19.95). The sirloin was ordered medium/rare... came in medium/well done. The allegedly award-winning chips didn't seem any different from the one we could get in a local chippy, for a fraction of the cost. The béarnaise sauce we have in a packet in the kitchen cupboard had a nicer flavour and doesn't seem to just be some fatty bit without flavour! The chicken was quite small with some overly salted potatoes on the side, some overly salted and very crispy sliced broad (?) beans. For the cost, we were expecting a lot more than this. If it had been a big chain pub with 2-for-1 offers, fair enough, but for a pub which makes itself out to be a great restaurant, it was a big let-down. If we go out, we do so to be wowed by people who are better cooks than ourselves, but I think we would've had a much nicer meal at home, to be honest.
Desserts: Sticky toffee pudding with banana ice cream and a chocolate tart with hazelnuts and whipped cream, both around £5. The chocolate tart didn't seem to taste much of chocolate, and we expected the hazelnuts to be sort of integrated in it, not sprinkled on top, but it was a nice slice. The sticky toffee pudding was rather nice, as it happened. Good flavour, sticky, spungy and warm.
Service: A bit on the slow side, but we were part of a large-ish party, so that it takes some time before food comes out is to be expected, really.
Inside: Standard pub, nothing special. Bar separated from restaurant area.
Outside: It's a big building next to the Trent Bridge cricket ground, doesn't seem to have enough parking spots.
Earlier in the day, we had looked at the menu on the website and thought it sounded really nice, looked forward to the evening. Once we got there, we were just disappointed, unfortunately. We would not decide to dine there again based on this experience, as there are better establishments in the area. On the plus side, they source all their ingredients locally and the bread we had before the starters came in was lovely, even if the butter tasted a bit funny.
It was an okay meal, but that's all. If we had wanted an okay meal, we can just go to a place like the Harvester and only pay half the price. If we're going to spend over £30 on main courses alone, we expect something rather delicious, not "we could've done this better at home". We would've at least expected the steak to be as ordered...
The Larwood & Voce are a part of the local Mole Face Pub Company, who also run the Lord Nelson in Burton Joyce and the Wollaton in Wollaton. We might try those out as well, at some point. Maybe.
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