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.
No comments:
Post a Comment