OPINION: Beautiful village, but roast below par

AH, the eternal quest for the perfect Sunday lunch. My experience at the weekend backed up my theory that when eating in a pub, unless you’re paying more than £15 for your main meal, it can all go horribly wrong.

I know, I know, there are plenty of excellent cheap places and plenty of rubbish expensive ones, but this theory has been formulated after eating in an awful lot of pubs, therefore I consider it proven.

You’d think that a relatively simple concept such as Sunday roast wouldn’t be too hard to execute. From many a tetchy hour in the kitchen, I know that bringing it all together requires a certain amount of skill, but it’s not the kind of thing that would get you through to the next round of Masterchef.

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I actually get quite nervous going into untested Sunday roast territory, such is the disappointment if the meal fails to live up to expectations.

So I was reassured by the website of the Greyhound pub in Aldbury (just down the hill from the Ashridge estate). Book in advance, it warned me, as the pub gets very busy.

A-ha, I thought, it must be good, and booked.

So off we trundled to Aldbury, my husband’s parents in tow. I was keen to show them the village, and have a better look around myself, after driving through once before.

The place was teeming with walkers and cyclists, and we were lucky to get a spot in the public car park. With its cute cottages, duck pond and stocks you do feel like you’re stepping back in time.

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I’m pretty sure I’d get fed up with all the attention if I lived there, but I guess that’s the price you pay for living somewhere so pretty.

The Greyhound certainly was busy, and we had to wait in the bar for our table to be ready. My father-in-law plumped for a pint of Firkin Fox from the Badger brewery, which he said was very nice. So far so good.

We ordered two plates of warm bread rolls with oil and balsamic vinegar to start with. What arrived wasn’t contradictory to the description, but for £2.95 I’d expect more than two little rolls that have clearly come from a part-baked multipack. (If you’re a warm bread aficionado, try the similar, but far superior, starter at the Flying Horse in Clophill).

Father-in-law was pleased with his main, a steak, ale and mushroom pie with chips, which might have been home-made but we weren’t sure. Sadly, the three roasts we ordered didn’t come up to scratch.

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The pork was fatty and flavourless (and didn’t come with crackling – a crime), the gravy was watery and the roast potatoes were dry and hard in places, making them difficult even to cut through, let alone chew.

My lamb was OK, but when the highlight of your meal is the cabbage, you know you’re in trouble. I had to ask for mint sauce, and was brought the most watery little bowl of that condiment that I’ve ever seen, without a spoon.

Looking at the positives, the service was good, and we didn’t have to wait too long, despite the pub being packed.

However, when times are tight you would expect eateries to want to provide value for money for their customers. The £60 we spent could have been put to far better use, but as I mentioned at the beginning, it’s a lottery, and this time we lost. I won’t be gambling my hard-earned cash at the Greyhound again.

And if you know somewhere that does a fail-safe, above-average Sunday roast, please tell me. But be warned – if I don’t like it you’ll be getting the bill!

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