And so following on almost from the last post, today we really did have the best Sunday pub lunch I’ve had a good while at the Queen’s Arms Hotel.
Meeting friends from Bristol halfway on the M4 seemed like a good idea. Especially when we found out that the head chef was the older brother of one of our mates. And so up we rocked after an hour or so on the road to East Garston near Lambourn – five minutes’ drive from junction 14. A village straight out of Country Life, everywhere we looked, there were properly kitted-out racing yards, good-life thatched cottages and upmarket 4X4s. Despite this setting the scene somewhat, when we entered the pub/restaurant/hotel, it was the kind’ve place that’s everything you could want from a pub. Low beamed ceilings, small brewery ales on tap and that cosy warm feeling that makes you want to snuggle up near the fire for the whole day.
Sitting down in the restaurant part of the pub, we were presented with a set menu. At around £25 for three courses, we were looking at the same prices for food as Ramsey’s York and Albany. So not so cheap but the offerings looked pretty special. A fairly normal sounding chicken liver pate was light and creamy while the rich but comforting duck egg benedict with black pudding (eaten by the boy, of course) was a winner. Mains consisted of roast beef and mountainous yorkshires or crackly and succulent pork belly. Really it was enough to sink a ship. But then, it was a three course menu and whilst we could’ve bailed at this point, it seemed churlish. So, after a little break, we tried gypsy tart which made up for its lack of gypsies with a soft brown sugar creamy taste. And the other gluttons tried the baked alaska – never tried it before and it was ace. The only thing was, that to get the best taste, you had to try and combine the meringue with the ice cream and then the fruit underneath that.
And so here’s the thing. The food was brilliant. The sort of stuff you yearn for on a Sunday. And the service was fantastic. I’d like to say we were given special treatment by dining with the sister of the chef. But the staff seemed to have time for a little joke with everyone as well as being hot on service. And there was no discretionary *mandatory* 12.5% service charge (although they fully deserved it). So that £25 for three courses, plus some reasonably priced drinks and great service made us feel thoroughly looked-after. In contrast, the York & Albany did everything they could to bump up their set Sunday menu with overpriced drinks and undeserved service charges.
So I’ve now found the perfect Sunday lunch pub. The question is… who’s going to buy me one of those nice little thatched houses just down the road?
