3rd in my occasional series of local roast dinner reviews.
I haven’t been to The Moderation for some time, it is a nice, modern pub just about in Caversham. I was pleasantly surprised to find the roast dinner listed for only £9.00 – I am sure it used to be a higher price.
Pork, chicken and beef were the options on the menu. Except they only had pork left.
We didn’t have to wait too long, around 15 minutes – the pub was moderately busy for a Sunday early evening, plenty of seating available.
The roast dinner was well presented, if a tiny bit on girlie size (or is that just my above-average belly talking?). A very impressive looking Yorkshire Pudding.
The cauliflower and broccoli were fine, a little tougher than I personally prefer. The carrots however were sensational, some of the best I have ever had – if only there were more than 6 thin strips of carrot. Not often I say that.
Good roast potatoes. Roast potatoes at a pub seem to be the easiest thing to get wrong but they were good.
Onto the important bits – the pork was nice and tender however with only two slices, this was a little disappointing. It seemed like it was an attempt to conserve the meat as they were running out. Decent bit of crackling, and the Yorkshire Pudding was excellent.
Finally, the part you have all been waiting for – the gravy. It was one of those homemade gravies which doesn’t really sit naturally with a Northern palette, but this was a good gravy, a decent consistency and there was plenty enough on the plate.
The empty plate would suggest that it gets the James Winfield seal of approval as a roast with good value for money, with room for improvement.
7.7 out of 10.
