A lovely meal in a lovely setting
We had received a couple of emails from a lady regarding this pub and how they would welcome an impartial visit. We left it a few months, but Mike decided that this was the time to go and give it a try! And we were so pleased we did. The location is beautiful, set in the pretty town of Southwick and the pub itself, which apparently is famous as the meeting place of Eisenhower and Montgomery before the D-Day landings.
The decor of the restaurant part and the whole pub is lovely and fresh, without losing the charm of this old public house. We particularly liked the look of the fireplace and the lovely candles placed on the tables and around the room. It was clean, tidy and the service was just as pleasant and we weren't left waiting for our food too long, even though the food is all cooked fresh.
Not having a website, we were unable to look at the menu (which is changed frequently and is seasonal) and therefore in terms of the Grubgang ethos of 3 courses for £20, we were unable to do this on this occasion. We were very happy with our two courses though. The mains were presented beautifully. The ladies both tried burgers, Clair the steak burger and Gemma the Lamb and mint. Gemma did feel she couldn't really taste the mint, but she felt that was down to her own preference and shouldn't play down the fact that the burger was delicious itself.
Mike tried the pork belly, which crackled beautifully as he cut into it. Dean had the guinea fowl which Clair tried too and both agreed the meat was succulent and very tasty!! It was easy to choose desserts too, as all the members of the Grubgang had decided before ordering their main which delights they were going to try!! Dean made the waitress aware that he wished to try the local cheeses board when he ordered his main, as it is stated on the menu that allowing the cheeses to stand at room temperature brings out the best in their flavour. Dean agreed as he felt the cheese was exceptional and very tasty indeed!
Clair tried the rhubarb and blood orange crumble, served with strawberry ice cream. It was delicious, the rhubarb and orange really complimented one another and the ice cream had lovely chunks of strawberry within it.......simply devine!! Gemma had the strawberry and marshmallow mousse, which some may think sounds very sickly, but was in fact light, fluffy and went down very well with fresh homemade shortbread. Mike decided on the orange sponge pudding, served with Cointreau custard and orange sauce. You have to love your oranges to appreciate this dessert, but Mike found it very palatable!
All in all we were very pleased with our experience of this restaurant and pub. We were definitely pushed to find any fault with the place at all, however we have taken a mark off on this review because it didn't quite fit the Grubgang ethos, which we felt the person sending the email should have realised. Our bill did go over budget even with us having two courses. This is definitely a place to go if you are looking for a romantic meal for two or a celebratory meal in a beautiful pub which doesn't serve the mundane pub meals one would expect.
Well done Golden Lion................I am sure we will be back!!
Marks out of 10............................................................................ 9
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