Beating Bank Holiday Blues at The Clifton

So last Bank Holiday Monday, I had just finished a Jolates class and I was feeling pretty hungry and also deflated by the thought of having to go to work the next day.  So we decided to have a browse for dinner around and we stopped at the Clifton. The night before the wedding Rich had told me how him and Bud, the best man, stumbled upon burgers here and they remember them being pretty good, mind you they were down 4/5 pints by this point. 

Franziskaner, king of beers

The pub was pretty quiet but the welcome we received from the bar staff was warm and friendly.  We were told that we were just in time for last orders before the kitchen closed, well it was almost 9pm. The Clifton do have a menu full of pub classics like sausage and mash, steak and burgers, but they also throw a few curve balls in with their specials occasionally.

Rich ordered a burger topped with pulled pork whilst I was swayed by the fried chicken with slaw and a pickle dip. Fried chicken is a rarity, unless you find yourself in KFC or Miss Millies, but I definitely feel this is starting to change, more places seem to slowly be offering fried chicken as an option. It is a guilty pleasure but when it's done right it is so comforting and homely that it is worth it.

We didn't have to wait too long for our food to arrive, which was a good thing as I was extremely hungry, and luckily the portions were pretty generous. The amount of fried chicken I got was huge, I do like fried chicken so this was definitely a good thing.

pulled pork and cheese burger

fried chicken in a basket

They have taken care of the details with the food here, feels like it is a bit more loved. The fried chicken was pretty good, mostly all juicy and the flavour of the batter was nicely seasoned. What was great is that it came with a tangy sauce which matched the fried chicken perfectly. The skin on fries were slightly crunchy basically it was a reassuring hug in a meal, maybe a four day week at work wouldn't be so bad after all with a start like this?

Rich's burger was a high quality meat patty, again juicy, I felt the pulled pork was a touch over slathered with barbecue sauce, but that could just be my personal preference, it did have a great smoky flavour after all. Plus the burger came with a pot of fry sauce that was absolutely moreish, a good addition to any burger. Over all I was pretty impressed with what The Clifton had to offer, it's upped it's game since I last went to eat there, and all to the good because I did feel it was coasting a little before.  They have a rather bargainous fixed price menu with two courses for £10, three for £13 for the whole of Monday to Friday. To see what else The Clifton has to offer check out their website.