(Mummy pig) I
was after a well-earned break from cooking Sunday lunch, but not wanting a
break from eating them we set about tracking down a good local spot for a pub
roast dinner.
The Jolly
Poacher on Ditchling Road sounded a good bet. Opened November 2012 (former Roundhill
Tavern) and sister pub to the well-reviewed Jolly Sportsman in East
Chiltington. We called at 11am and got a
booking for 12.30 that day. Managed to
find local on-street parking for free (a Brighton rarity) and piled in from the
zero-degree streets hoping to find a warm welcome.
They showed
us to our table and the décor was suitably Gastro-pub; lots of wood and grey
walls. Service was friendly but warm it
was not! Two lovely fireplaces sat empty
and I regretted removing my coat after five minutes and put it back on. I mentioned the fires and the waiter indicated
he had just turned up the radiators! Oh well.
Food started
with really excellent fresh bread. There
was a fair choice on the menu plus Specials and the kids’ menu was 2 courses
for £6 with a nice choice – cut above chicken nuggets but not so fancy as to
put them off.
Daddy Pig
and I ordered the roast sirloin of beef from the Specials (it was a Sunday) and
the piglets ordered steak and chips and sausage and chips. They brought the kids’ food first which was a
winning move and kept them happy. We
only waited a little longer for the beef – and it was well worth it!
Without a
doubt the nicest roast I have ever had in a Brighton pub. The photo does not do it justice as it was
partially demolished before I felt inspired to take the photo and create this
blog with piglet. The sirloin was cooked
to perfection – pink in the middle, seared outside with just a hint of naughty
crispy beef fat. Outstanding roasties,
fresh shredded cabbage, sufficient gravy – it was excellent.
We just had
room to squeeze in dessert. Warm chocolate
tart was beautiful; light in texture yet packing a real chocolate punch, homemade
honeycomb and crème fraiche. DP’s crumble was disappointing; neither warm nor
stodgy enough. Still, a minor point in
the face of outstanding food in general.
Bill was £65
for the 4 of us for lunch with no wine, 2.5 courses (we shared desserts). Overall opinion is that the food here is
outstanding – just please warm it up a bit!
(Piglet) For
my lunch, I had a most delicious steak and chips.
The steak
was chargrilled to about medium, and was perfectly pink inside. It was brilliantly seasoned and went very well
with the chips.
Now the chips. Oh, they were scrumptious!
Salted just how I like it. They were the perfect golden brown and were lovely
and fluffy through the centre.
The service
was excellent- and gave us a whole pile of colouring books to keep us occupied.
There were plenty of things to choose from, and the bread was especially nice. The
only thing I would do is make it a tiny bit warmer and add more heating!
Overall, I rate
it 11 out of 10!!