Page 54 - Phonebox Magazine December 2014

Fashion Free Food
No nonsense pub grub at the Robin Hood, Clifton Reynes
I’m going to say it out loud. I recently went to Wahana in Cardiff. It’s a chain restaurant. A thing I avoid as if they were run by the devil himself. In my defence I had no choice. It is a product of Thomasina Miers, an early Masterchef champion. It is the first one outside London. So hardly a chain at
all. And it was really good. Very good.
Her Mexican menu is inspired by the currently ultra fashionable street food. The dishes feature pulled meat, chorizo, and numerous other height of fashion ingredients. How she wedges fennel flavoured pork scratchings onto a Mexican themed menu I’m not sure. But she does. Because they are trendy. They are delicious by the way.
So why do I hate the Jamies, Wahanas, Bills and Carluccios so much despite the undisputed quality of their food? I don’t like the idea that 20, 50, 150 miles away someone else is eating exactly the same food, in exactly the same decor, with a perfectly trained, exactly the same waiter serving me. And if it was on my doorstep, I’d want to know it was going to last beyond the flash in the pan that is fashion food.
So to the Robin Hood. Always as far away from a fashion victim as you can get. It’s been a while coming, our trip to this much loved local. New owner, Simon, took over from Reg about two months ago. He’s not new to the feeding business with previous at the Courtyard and Cafe Roscoe. His food has always been good. But will the cafe king successfully transfer to a pub?
So far Simon hasn’t changed very much. The pub itself needs a little tender loving care. The conservatory restaurant, particularly in winter, is cold and old-fashioned.
But from a food point of view, there has been a change. And for the better. The menu is good, modern, simple. Steak and ale pie. Game pudding. Herb-crusted pork fillet. Duck breast. Its a short menu with five starters and seven mains. And it changes regularly too.
There is a nod to fashion with my starter of chorizo in garlic, cider and onion sauce. But this food is all about the flavour. None of this style over substance nonsense. Good quality ingredients, cooked freshly, placed on the plate with a bit of love. The other starter - Thai mussels in a lovely garlicky spicy sauce. Both were served with a large hunk of real bread for soaking up those juices.
Mains. The game pudding - a very non-fashionable, traditional suet pudding. A properly rich velvety gravy around chunks of tasty meat. Mine was herb- crusted pork fillet. A huge piece of perfectly cooked pork served with soft mash, caramelised apples and a cider sauce. Served simply with some green beans. It looks and tastes like the home cooked dinners you wished your mum used to make.
A nice wine list from Bacchus and a very well kept pint of Trelawney complete the act.
I believe plans are afoot to give the place a face lift. If it can be done with the same gentle touch as the menu, modern, unpretentious, real, this pub could be something special quite soon.
Wahanas may come and go. But our independent, individual, passion and personality fuelled local pubs - I sincerely hope they are here to stay. HB
TOP TIP FURTHER AFIELD
T
not have heard of. It’s not all about the heat. Try the pani puri - tiny mouthfuls of meat and pomegranate served cold, and the uninspiring sounding but quite delicious dry beef curry (pictured). HB
hali and Tandoor, Castle Quay, Bedford.
This is an Indian restaurant that’s a little bit
different. Items on the menu that you may
p. foodie
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54 Phonebox Magazine