According to the website, The Bull is a 15th Century former coaching inn. I was particularly excited to read that the food was cooked by someone called Jayne. Not that I have any particular emotion connection to the name, but it gave the suggestion that their roast dinner was home-cooked, rather than mass-produced. And it has a good website.
The pub itself was cosy but upmarket – and for those interested it was dog-friendly. We had a nice table reserved for us near the window, and next to the log fire. I am particularly keen on pubs with wooden beams.
One curiosity was noticing that almost every other building in Wargrave has this flowering tree wrapped around it. Is anyone able to illuminate upon this?
The choices were beef, pork and chicken. I went for the shoulder of pork at the pleasing price of £13.95. Shortly after we had placed our order, the waitress/barmaid came over to advise that a party of 22 had snuck their order in before us so there would be a bit of a wait. We were offered some bread to keep our stomachs occupied, which was a nice touch, and the bread was gorgeous – soft and warm, albeit with exceptionally salty butter.
It didn’t actually seem that long until the dinner arrived. I hadn’t finished my pint. And it was a case of “wow” when the plates arrived.
I am under the impression that as much of the food is sourced locally as is possible – I’m jumping the gun here but the strawberries for dessert, assumedly grown in the polytunnels near the train station, were just sensational. Albeit they came with a choice of ice cream, cream or custard. Has anyone ever had strawberries and custard?
Starting with my least-favourite of red cabbage, this was the strongest tasting red cabbage I have experienced. It was crunchy and a touch wonky, and there was far too much served to be able to eat.
Swede isn’t something I would normally consider. We were again provided with a generous unfinishable serving, a wondrous orange colour and a delightful kind of nutty yet fruity taste. The swede was topped with butter and chives.
Next up was cauliflower cheese, with added broccoli in the mix. Another massive bowl, and tried as we did it was again impossible to finish. Delectably creamy, with the vegetables just soft enough, and a hint of cheese.
So far, so very, very good.
There were just 3 roast potatoes supplied, as per the Berkshire usual it seems. However these were very large roast potatoes, soft in the inside but only minimal crisp on the outside. Good but not perfect.
Two homemade Yorkshire puddings were supplied, fitting with the theme of ample provision, unlike last weekend’s experience. They were just a bit too crispy for my tastes, I feel a softer bottom is required. But they were good.
The crackling was delightful, crispy yet soft enough to eat, and even melted in the mouth a bit.
Penultimately, pork proved plentiful, plus positively pleasing. Ooh I do like a bit of alliteration. Again it was nicely cooked, there were 4 slices of a medium-thickness, it was tender and very nice to taste.
Last to talk about is the gravy. There isn’t much to say, it was very thin. But complimentary. And befitting of the excellent service, more was forthcoming upon request.
For £13.95 this was an exceptionally generous serving. Easily the largest plate I have been served (clearly not beating the carveries for self-chosen quantity) and the quality was good to excellent throughout. And that it was home-made made it all the more special.
I’m struggling for downsides. I don’t understand why pubs in nice areas like Wargrave sell shoddy pints of chemicals like Fosters. Also the music piped over the naff 80’s speaker in the corner was rather on the miserable side.
This leaves me with a bit of a conundrum. It isn’t as good as The Crown which I rated 8.7. But it is better than The Packhorse which I rated 8.5. I would ideally like to retrospectively go back and change their ratings to 8.9 and 8.3 respectively. Am I allowed to do that? I don’t have a rule against it. What would you think?
I feel that 8.5 out of 10 is a fair score. This was a really enjoyable experience in every way. I left absolutely stuffed but not out of pocket. There is room for improvement. But it really was excellent.
In my opinion it is the second best roast in the local area. I highly recommend a visit – and do book beforehand.
With next weekend being a bank holiday there is a chance I may end up partying in London instead of roast dinnering around Reading. I can confirm that the random number generator has picked somewhere for my next roast that I am really not at all looking forward to. The ultimate antithesis of home cooking.
Maybe I will be surprised.
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