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I’ve had quite a bit of free time lately. Loads of places in Chester are offering exceptionally good deals on pub lunches. I’ve tried a few of them, and decided to do a bit of a review. Have a look bellow and tell me what you think.
Since a originally wrote this “article”, a couple of things have changed, so I have revised it.
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The Temple Bar |
| About the pub:Temple has really picked up lately, after being a bit of a dive, a few years ago. I go in there regularly, they sell the excellent Amstel lager that I like for £2 a pint.
I had: Fish, Chips and Mushy Pea’s
It was:Mushy pease, were very runny. Fish was nice, but a bit soggy, I normally prefer it a bit crisper. Plenty of chips.
It Cost: £8 (You actually get 2 meals for £8)
Conclusion:Food was okay, but not particularly outstanding. Was pretty upset that they didn’t mention I could have an extra meal included in the price. Will probably just stick to the cheap Amstel. |
| Food Quality: ** |
Value for money: * |
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The Frog and Nightingale |
About the pub: Okay, so its my local and I’m slightly biased, but that said, it has 2 excellent chefs and all the food is purchased locally and fresh. It now only has 1 chef, as Jo has left. The ace Nathan is standing in though !.
I had: 2 course lunch. I had pate to start, and Chile as a main.
It was: The pate was excellent, and as good as the stuff I’ve eaten at the Grosvenor hotel. Chile was delicious with nacho’s and rice, although I would have liked a little more.It Cost: £5
Conclusion: This is isn’t so much a pub, as a restaurant that has a bar. What I ate was some of the best food in Chester, for £5. |
| Food Quality: ***** |
Value for money: *** |
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The Custom House |
| About the pub: One of my favourite drinking haunts, down towards the racecourse. They employ a lot of students, which can sometimes mean waiting a while to get served. In every other way its an amazing pub.
I had: Fish, Chips and Mushy peas.
It was: The best fish and chips I think I’ve eaten in some years.
It Cost: £4.75
Conclusion: Food was fantastic, but its still a single course meal and a pint north of £7.50, and were attempting to find good food for pocket money, which this isn’t. |
| Food Quality: **** |
Value for money: ** |
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The Boat House |
| About the pub: Lovely pub, down by the river. On a sunny day, it looks like the Mongol hoards have descended on it. They’ve obviously had a re-organisation, as the landlord appears to run a tight ship now.
I had: Steak Pie with Gravy and Chips. Comes with an inclusive drink, I chose Fosters.
It was: A delicious full sized pie (not like one from the chippy, which I was expecting) plenty of thick gravy and loads of chips. Fosters was sharp crisp and clear.
It Cost: £5
Conclusion: I thought for a moment, they would do the old trick, of serving me the drink, then hanging around with the food and only putting it out, when I ordered a 2nd drink. They did nothing of the kind, the food was on the table in 20 minutes and I was asked on 2 occasions if the food was okay etc.
It just doesn’t get any better than this !.
Since then, the pub has been taken over. You can still get a nice pie and chips (although you now have to suffer a pint of Carlsberg, which I find “Gassy”) the problem is, it costs £10.70 !!!. |
| Food Quality: **** |
Value for money: ** |
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The Red Lion |
| About the pub: One of the busiest and most popular pubs in Chester. Not one I go in often, but a friendly pub, with a good mix of regulars and not so regulars. They do pints of Fosters for £1.79 a pint and various spectacularly cheap food deals.
I had: The Thursday curry and a pint for £5 (they do 5 different sorts of curry.
It was: A clear fresh pint, and the curry was tasty, if a little small.
It Cost: £5.
Conclusion:The Shere Khan, aren’t going to put their restaurant up for sale just yet, but the Red Lion Curry was quite nice. |
| Food Quality: *** |
Value for money: ***** |
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Burger King (obviously) |
| About the pub: Its not a pub, but it was spotlessly clean and the staff were friendly and helpful. They advertise a £2 deal, and in the advert they say “you’ll feel like you robbed us !”.
I had: burger, medium fries and a coke.
It was: Very tasty, but not really wholesome, if you know what I mean.
It Cost: £2.
Conclusion: Okay, not particularly healthy, but as an occasional treat, what can you say, it was 2 quid !. |
| Food Quality: *** |
Value for money: **** |
And the winner is ?: Nobody is going to go in a pub and order lunch, without having a drink as well. Considering this, it would be the boat house, as its a delicious meal without compromise and a drink included for a fiver.
Well, as we’ve seen above, the Boathouse no longer do the £5 deal. The principle of a not buying a meal, without a drink still stands, and on that basis it would have to be the Red Lion (they do food and a drink all week, for £5, I just wanted to try the Thursday Curry, and it didn’t disappoint).
In other categories, I would say:
The best value lunchtime snack: Burger King
The best quality pub food at a fair price: The Frog and Nightingale
The best “pub” fish and chips in Chester: The Custom House
On the subject of food. If you have a moment, visit hungersite. All you have to do, is visit the site and click on some links, and you will feed someone in the developing world for nothing. |