London Series: The Pheasant Pub and Restaurant

A trip to London is never complete without a visit to a pub. The word pub is short for Public Houses and has been a traditional establishment in Great Britain. This is where the community gathers in social settings and where alcoholic drinks are served.

There is a pub around where my hotel is, about 10 minutes walk. Many people in my company recommend that I try this place as they serve very good meals too. It’s called the Pheasant Pub and Restaurant. I went just as the sun set and took a few HDR shots of the colourful pub. This is one of my favourite HDR shots. It’s so sharp that I could literally see into the windows (click on the picture below and see for yourself). I heart his shot.

Pubs sell a wide range of beers, wine and soft drinks. I did not get any alcoholic drink as I went past the bar and straight to the back of the pub where the restaurant is. There were hardly any moving room as there were some soccer game on the TVs. I think it was the Euro 2008 Qualifying matches going on. The English are so soccer crazy … OK, football crazy.

I am surprised with the wide range of food served there. I expected this to be a lot of snacks and finger food but they are all full meals. There were a lot of deliciously sounding menu items that I find it hard to decide what I want.

I had the image of pubs being a smoking place. I am glad the restaurant section had no smoking signs all over. Anyway, I place my order at the counter, paid up and was given a wooden ladle with the number “11″ — that was my order number. When they come around shouting my number, I am supposed to put the ladle up to show the server that it’s mine. How’s this for informal dining?

Hey, errr … the three squeeze bottles, I am sure they are color coded and for a Brit they know what’s in it. I can guess that the red one is ketchup and the yellow one must be mustard (them Brits love their mustards, don’t they?). But what is in the one in brown? If I hazard a guess, I would say it’s BBQ sauce … am just guessing.

What’s the pub grub I ordered? I was a bit adventurous and ordered the “Best English Calves Liver and Bacon”. It came in a large squarish plate. The meat were served on top of some of the tastiest mash potatoes I had tasted and there were lots of it.

The vegetables were cold but really nice. I could be wrong but I think they are all cooked and then chilled as they don’t taste a bit raw to me. BTW, if there is no dressing on top of this, do you still call this a salad or is it better described as vegetables?

The bacon was heavenly. That slab was evenly cooked throughout and is soft and tender. I am beginning to like English bacon a lot.

The best part was the calves liver. Do you find it repulsive to eat liver? I don’t. I think they taste wonderful although I know it has an unusual taste to a lot of people. This must have been at least 12 oz of liver. And the gravy that came along blends itself nicely to the entire dish.

The dish costs 13 GBP. I am getting used to London prices and would say it is quite reasonable price. I mean, don’t convert it to CAD … CAD 40 is certainly to much for a main dish.

I am certainly going to come back to this place to try their other unusual dishes the next time I am in London again. Listen to what else they have on their menu:

• Pan Fried Chicken Supreme filled with Boursin Cheese wrapped in Parma Ham
• Homemade Steak and Kidney Pie
• Mixed Seafood a la Creme
• Traditional Burchers Cumberland Sausage, Mash and Onion
• Scottish Baked Fiillet of Salmon with Salmon Mousse
• Homemade Fillet of Beff Strogonoff served with Saffron Rice
• Traditional British Beer Battered Cod and Chips
• Best New Zealand Herb and Mustard Crust Rack of Lamb
• Best English Half Shoulder of Lamb
• Grilled Dover Sole with Baby Prawns and Almonds

Feeling hungry? I am writing this. Anyway, this is it … my trip London trip report. More coming up … Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. Tell me, seriously, what do you want us to do? Me continuing with the trip report or have Suanne do a few recipe entries. We want to keep you entertained. :-)