Finally on BRAPA A14 2018 (T-Shirts available) we go gastro.
Two destination dining pubs in tiny villages just south of the A14 to finish, with the Pheasant in Keyston enjoying an unbroken run in the Guide dating back beyond Cromwell.
This was a key target for Si, marking the western outpost of Cambs/Hunts, and frankly it’s always fun seeing BRAPA explode in dining pubs.
Of course, it’s the Good Pub Guide (the one you pay to be in) it’s most proud about. That’s the Guide that rewards you for the length of your menu items, like this one;
Slow cooked wagu beef with bubble and squeak, celeriac puree, cavolo nero and sauce Borrguignonne £19.95
Most of the pub looks like this;
Actually, the menu isn’t that pompous, and it’s undeniably a classy restaurant as well as the sort of Olde Worlde “pub” building most Americans expect to find.
Of course, most Americans rate pubs by the quality of the handwash.
We rejected the fireplace with its traditional pub sofa and wicker (?) seat.
At the bar Simon felt morally obliged to ask the barman what was going quickest (I was behind him) despite it being clear the answer was none of them.
Again, to be fair, it’s a sensible beer range (one you know, one local, one with a hen on it) and the truncheon pumps work for me.
We sat opposite the smart but casual diners finishing off their third bottle of plonk. Sadly there were no arguments over the splitting of the bill. One of them was suffering from “bone density“, we deduced from their clear diction.
We looked, and felt, the village peasants hoping for scraps from the Lord’s table.
Fittingly, I finished off the dregs of Si’s average pint of Nobby’s while he went off searching for excitement, which duly arrived when a couple of lads took centre-stage at the bar, as expertly recorded by the great man.
As Si noted, I had to leave before I combusted, making a dash for the field. Even wild bulls make better company than Lamborghini drivers.
retiredmartin 
When you visit a place like this, do you imagine it was once more of a proper pub and has gone gastro in recent times? Or has it likely always been a sort of restaurant with “a pubby bit” tacked on?
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Good question. The Pheasant has probably been an upmarket foodie pub for decades. The next pub, the Mermaid, has changed markably over two decades, as you’ll see. Reservations and place settings on most tables, little if any drinking trade, sad cycle of decline.
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Does the entire menu consist of the remains of Roman emperors?
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“Slow cooked wagu beef with bubble and squeak, celeriac puree, cavolo nero and sauce Borrguignonne ”
I’m not entirely sure that’s in English.
“Si was always going to ask for “Nobbys” of course”
I’d have gone for the bitter in the middle.
“We looked, and felt, the village peasants hoping for scraps from the Lord’s table.”
I’ve been re-watching Downton Abbey I completely understand. 😉
“I’ve been working at Lamborghini for the last month”
Yet more non-English words. 🙂
Cheers
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Basically, long menu items are Your Dinner On A Plate, like your gran in Yorkshire would have given you.
It saves on serving dishes for the accompaniments, and on waiting effort in serving them, asking diners what they want, etc..
They’re crap. There’s always something for everyone to dislike among the silly list.
(In my humble opinion, naturally, kind gentlefolk)
Give us fine meat or fish – plus sauce and garnish – and let us choose the rest, please.
Oh, and on a plate, not on a slate, nor in a bowl.
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Etu, Yes, they’re c**p – and usually from a freezer via a microwave.
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That’s not a wicker chair – it’s a Windsor chair. And is that lady with her foot in a supportive boot winking at you?
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It’s the plague.
#ChairPedantry
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