 |
The Boot and Shoe (Cumbria)
by jeffjen
On a recent short break in the Lake District staying near the village of Greystoke not far from Penrith and Ullswater we came across The Boot and Shoe, a pub which also offers meals and accommodation.
Greystoke itself is a lovely little village with its 17th century slate roofed stone houses and cottages and is also home to ... Greystoke Castle, the ancestral home of 'Tarzan.'
At the centre of the village there stands an ancient market cross that dates back at least to the early 1600's and it is just along from here that you will find The Boot and Shoe.
Finding out what pubs were named after is something I enjoy reading about or asking about particularly if they have an unusual name and as The Boot and Shoe is not a name I can say I have came across before, I was interested to read inside that the pub acquired its name because of the strange sartorial habit of a former Duke of Norfolk wearing a shoe on one foot and a boot on the other to ease the pain of crippling gout! It did say however, that it is not certain whether or not he shuffled down the long drive from the castle and across the green to the pub clad like this as it is not recorded, but the villagers like to think he did just to complete the story.
We were staying at a lodge park a few minutes drive up the road from the village and as the road ran alongside Greystoke Forest and was single track in places with passing spaces, it wasn't something I relished driving along at night in the pitch black darkness. It was so remote I had barely (if any) a signal on my mobile and didn't fancy pulling over to allow a car to pass in one of the more difficult spots and ending up in a muddy ditch, and so we visited the pub during the daytime for a meal on two occasions during our stay.
The Boot and Shoe is open all day and seems quite popular with locals and visitors. There are a few spaces outside to park your car, but on both occasions all available space was being used and we ended up parking by the roadside opposite the green.
The pub itself is an old coaching house which fits in well with the other buildings in the area and has retained its old charm. It looks fairly big from the outside, but I was surprised when we entered to find it is actually very small inside and cannot seat a great deal of people. There is seating outside and a patio area/garden at the back but as it was November, it wasn't really the weather for sitting out.
There are two small bars divided by a stone and brick partition, with tables of various sizes and also a few stools along the bar. As it is small with low ceilings it does feel very cosy and although the tables are close together to make use of the limited space, it didn't feel too cramped. On one wall was a bookcase holding a number of books for visitors to look at and a fireplace with a roaring log fire going sat on another.
On our first visit one afternoon, we found a small round table for two in front of the window and sat down. To be honest there was only one other table available and it had a reserved sign upon it. The lady behind the bar greeted us with a friendly smile and said we could sit at the reserved table for the time being if we wished as she was expecting some hunters coming in but not until 3pm. It was only a little after 2pm but I thanked her and told her we were fine sitting at the table by the window.
There were menus on the tables and also some specials chalked up on a blackboard on the wall. For such a small pub I was surprised at the amount of choice available which included starters, mains and desserts as well as a selection of sandwiches. There was also information on the themed nights they hold at the pub such as Tapas and Sangria night or Curry and Steak nights. All meals are cooked using locally sourced ingredients where possible.
We both decided upon a hot beef sandwich which came served with home made chips and a salad garnish. We chose these from the blackboard and at less than 10 for the two it was reasonably priced.
I ordered a soft drink as I was driving but my partner enjoyed a pint of one of the local real ales available.
The drinks were also reasonably priced.
Starters included Soup at 3.95 and Prawn Cocktail at 5.25, mains were priced at under 10 (unless you ordered steak) and included fish dishes, gammon, chilli, lasagne and burgers. Vegetarian options included Mediterranean Vegetable and mixed Bean Lasagne and Baked Goats Cheese and Sun Blushed Tomatoes wrapped in Filo Pastry on a Roast Garlic and Wild Mushroom Cream Sauce. There were also hot and cold sandwiches and jacket potatoes. Desserts included puddings, cakes and cheesecakes all priced at around 4.50.
We didn't wait long for our meals to be brought out and we thoroughly enjoyed them. The beef was tender and the home made chips delicious. The lady who had greeted us when we arrived also chatted to us before our meals were served asking where we were from etc and spoke a bit about the local area. I told her we were enjoying a short break away for my partner's birthday and she told us they get quite a few visitors from the lodge park, particularly in the warmer months.
She told us they have quiz nights on Thursday evenings and live music in the pub also at least a couple of times a month and that they were open until midnight every night apart from Thurs, Fri and Sat when they close at 1am. It is difficult to imagine how they fit live music into the space available but they obviously manage it somehow.
On our second visit, we were welcomed back again and this time the pub wasn't as busy but it was a little later in the day after 3pm. My partner was asked if he had enjoyed his birthday which I thought was nice of her to remember. Again we couldn't fault the food and service.
The toilets were very small but clean and easily accessed in a hallway off the bar area. The accommodation must be upstairs and whilst I didn't see the rooms, they did look quite nice on the photographs I saw and are advertised as twin rooms from 40 per person per night and single from from 47.50 per person per night. Dogs are welcome with prior arrangement.
I enjoyed our visits to The Boot and Shoe and will certainly visit again as we have decided we would like to return to the area for another short break in the future.
The Boot and Shoe
Greystoke
Penrith
Cumbria
CA11 0TP
Tel. 017684 83343
Read the complete review |
 |
5th Avenue (Manchester)
by sarah1423
I went here on a Monday night so bear this in mind when reading this review.
Monday madness- I bought tickets for this online which cost £2.50 each and then a £1 service charge (abit cheaky), included in this we got a que jump and two free drinks per person, the drinks however had to be vodka and redbull. When I looked online ... there was promises of thinks such as free candy, pinball machines and things that were not what you would expect hence the name monday madness, I stayed until about 1am and didnt see any sign of this. The night started at 10pm and ended at 2.30am so thats four and a half hours which for a Monday is ok I suppose.
Drinks- This is the best thing about this club they are just so cheap, you could expect to pay around £1 a drink and get three skittle bombs for £1.50. All the drinks come in lastic cups which I guess isnt a bad idea and is a lot safer.
Music- This is the big let down for me, they just werent playing anything you could dance to and people were just stood around on the dance floor. They were playing a mix of music from rock to hip-hop and indie to house but for me it was nothing special, there was the odd good tune but it just didnt create the right atmosphere.
Atmoshpere- This club is clearly for students offering cheap drinks and a chilled out atmoshphere. I didnt see anyone over the age of about 25. One thing I didnbt like is the amount of security, there was a guy constantly stood watching the dance floor and I found it quite intimidating and it put you off dancing.
The venue- The venue was great, it is spread over two floors and has three bars and somewhere you can buy cheap food!, the lighting was good. I just think they have the facilities to make the place a lot better.
Read the complete review |
 |
The Crown (Wolverhampton, West Midlands)
by Anti
Now that I'm at university I hardly ever see or speak to my friends from school, especially as we live across the region of the West Midlands and beyond (and no, I didn't go to a boarding school!) However when a meetup is organized it is generally held at The Crown Pub in my home city of Wolverhampton. Now that I've been there quite a ... few times I feel I should write a review with my opinions about this pub and restaurant.
==---Information---==
The Crown is a pub and "eating house" (i.e. nice-looking restaurant) located on Wergs Road (A41), which isn't a central location but about an 8 minute drive from Wolverhampton city centre. They serve a variety of dishes that sometimes change depending on the season, serving not only traditional English fare such as fish and chips but also pizzas and pastas- foods that suit everyone, really.
There are two sets of menus at the Crown: for lunchtime there is the 'Prix Fixe' menu (available Mon-Fri from 12 noon-7pm), where you can get two courses for £12.50. What dishes are available changes weekly but I've found the choice of meals to be quite limited, so I tend to go for the main menu whatever the time of day. The prices on the main menus vary depending on the dish, but a main course will set you upwards of £8 which I feel is quite expensive as a student though not too surprising given the area where the pub is located.
==---Appearance---==
On the outside The Crown looks like a rather large pub, with traditional brickwork and outside seating. However its interior carries the atmosphere of a restaurant. The bar is located near the entrance but the rest of the building is taken up by chairs and tables. It's very darkly lit with candles lighting up the larger tables. Generally the decor is great because it gives the impression of being a very high-end, classy establishment and is extremely spacious.
==---My Experience---==
The last time I went to the Crown was about a fortnight prior to this write-up. I was part of a party of 12 people who had pre-booked by phone. We went on Sunday evening and the restaurant wasn't too busy despite it coming close to Christmas- there were a lot of people eating but nobody waiting to be seated at the door.
As my sister and I were the last people to get to the pub from our party we didn't need to be led to our seat, but obviously the staff had got our party a large enough table. There was one less seat for my sister but as one edge of our table was a bench she was able to squeeze in and be provided with the necessary cutlery without being too squashed. Furthermore the waiter did offer her a chair before she decided to take the bench seat.
We soon got our orders for drinks taken. As this is a pub there is obviously a range of drinks on offer but I only ordered lemonade, which came with ice and a lemon wedge. They also provided us with two free jugs of water which were refilled on request.
To save money we tend to forego starters and head straight into a main course, but after ordering our waiter gave us all complimentary bread and warmed oil to tide us over, which was very nice. Our waiting time was about 30-40 minutes which isn't bad at all because all 12 dishes came out at the same time. For my main, I chose the Battered Haddock and Chips which also comes with tartare sauce (didn't touch this) and mushy peas, costing £11.95. Overall I enjoyed the meal. The fish was as long as the plate so you definitely got your money's worth. It was tender, tasted fresh and not as if recently warmed up in the microwave whilst the batter, although sagging in the middle wasn't overly greasy but very crispy. The chips were also well-cooked, not soggy or greasy. My sister opted for the Cannelloni Al Forno, a pasta dish that cost £10.45. The portions for this (as many other friends also ordered cannelloni) were quite small compared to everyone else's dishes, but she said it was nicely-presented and very tasty. I found it weird that her portion size was comparatively small- many of us couldn't finish our mains because they were so big!
After mains many of us went for dessert. My sister and I decided to share a warm brownie with vanilla cream and chocolate sauce, which cost £5.75. One friend wanted banoffee pie only to be initially told it wasn't available, but then our waiter went to speak with the head chef and came back saying he managed to get one made for her, which I was thought was nice of them! Anyway, our warm brownie came 5-10 minutes later and it was soft, not too moist and very delicious- a perfect warming treat for the cold evening.
So, as you can see our food and service at the Crown was great. The staff were very attentive, periodically asking us how our meals were going, if we wanted another drink etc, even engaging in some banter! The dishes are a bit pricy for me but there is a wide range available and it matches the quality of the food presented, so the occasional visit for me makes it a worthwhile dining experience.
To find out more visit: http://www.thecrownwergs.co.uk/
Read the complete review |
