Reviews
Following Sunday lunch at The Angel and Royal I was not disappointed and neither were my five fellow diners.
We lunched in Bertie’s Bistro on the ground floor of the historic building which has seen a lot of history and indeed, monarchs, pass through its doors since King John stayed there in the 13th century.
While the leek and potato soup starter was a favourite amongst us I decided I would try the chicken liver pate with red onion marmalade and Melba toast. The pate came in what I can only describe as a ‘slab’ on my plate. Not very subtle, but this is not a complaint. While the pate portion was very large it was also very welcome. Some pates can be a little too mellow but this was very tasty and creamy. Another starter, the apple, celery and walnut salad with blue cheese dressing was also a hit.
Moving on to the mains, I am not a big fan of roasts so like to look out for a few alternatives and the pan fried bass fillet with ratatouille and chive oil caught my eye. The fish was nicely cooked with a crispy skin. The ratatouille was plentiful but too bland for my liking and needed pepping up a bit. My daughter is a vegetarian and while she does eat fish, she instead went for the buffalo mozzarella and plum tomato tartlet with herb salad and buttered new potatoes. The tartlet sounded intrigueing and was cleared from the plate. The chicken and beef roasts were also a success with plentiful portions of meat and vegetables served.
Then it was time to sample the desserts. I must admit this is what I was waiting for, having seen a few desserts on the menu which I couldn’t resist. I was lucky. Having plumped for the chocolate croissant bread and butter pudding with custard sauce, my son chose the other pudding which had also got me licking my lips - the homemade flapjack with vanilla ice cream and plum, apple and cinnamon compote. I loved the stodgy bread and butter pudding because stodgy is how I think a bread and butter pudding should be. But then I also liked the flapjack which I got to sample! It is an unusual addition to the dessert menu but the combination of ice cream and fruity compote made it a delicious end to a very satisfying meal.
And prices are very reasonable. One course is £9.95, two for £12.50 and three for £15.50.
4/5 stars