Lazy Roasting Sunday at The Steam Crane

A few Sundays ago we were celebrating. Beth had just finished her massive almost 20k word dissertation and my treat to her was lunch or dinner of her choice. A roast at the Steam Crane was chosen. We decided, as it was a sunny day, to take the boat down to the S.S Great Britain and then walk the rest of the way via Southville Deli.  The Steam Crane was quite quiet but we had booked at 3.30 so we were directed to a small table by the windows and immediately ordered ciders and a packet of those Snyder's of Hanover pretzel bites, if you haven't tried these you really should they are super addictive, they should be your next drink snack of choice. I personally recommend the hot buffalo wing or cheddar cheese flavours but to be honest they are all delicious and I am drooling right now just thinking about them.

The Steam Crane had two roasts on offer pork belly and beef, at a top of the range price of £14.95, we decided to all go for pork, although note that as tradition dictates Yorkshire pudding is not included with the pork, which is a shame as who doesn't like a Yorkshire? More ciders were ordered all round, well we were celebrating, whilst we waited for our food to arrive.

pork belly and greens

roast, with added beets and carrots

apple sauce

Well it is quite the pretty picture isn't it? A huge dish of roasted beetroot and carrots was placed next to us as well as a mini gravy boat each. Everything tasted really delicious. The pork was especially pleasing. Some of the carrots and beets were a little on the hard side but the potatoes were crunchy and fluffy in the way that everyone wants their roasties. I did miss having a Yorkshire pudding especially as the gravy was plentiful needed something extra to mop it up. Was it worth nearly £15 though? I am not so sure, it was tasty but it is a little above my comfort zone for roasts personally speaking.

We did fancy the toffee, apple and cinnamon crumble for dessert but that had sold out so we opted to share the chocolate tart with salted caramel and vanilla cream, but at £7 we decided sharing was the best option for this. Hugely rich and indulgent I was glad that we shared the tart was quite good but could have done with more than the scanty amount of salted caramel swirled on the bottom of the plate.

I did enjoy the roast at the Steam Crane, flavour wise it was pretty much spot, on the portions were good but not enormous but the price won't have me hurrying back I'm afraid. Also they really need to sort out the toilets they are freezing for one thing but also really in need of a good spruce up. To find out more about what other food the Steam Crane do, check out their website. 

Christmas at the Famous Royal Navy Volunteer

Happy New Year all, I still have an ounce of Christmas cheer left and I decided to spend it on writing about the Christmas meal we had at the Famous Royal Navy Volunteer. I was tasked, as the resident food fanatic, with organising the Christmas meal and it was a job I took very seriously.  With a very short amount of notice and a short list of favoured restaurants the tastiest option and one I fancied most was the menu for the Navy Volunteer, after a recent renovation this place has become hugely popular. Three courses for £27.50 with amuse bouche and mince pies tacked on the front and back end, plus I'd never eaten here before and had heard a great deal of praise for the food.

The menu had some mouthwatering options such as Salt Marsh lamb with a lavender crust and chocolate tart with an oreo base and peanut butter ice cream. I decided to opt for the goats cheese bon bons on a beetroot risotto, pheasant breast with sausage and sage stuffing and all the trimmings and to top it off an apple, brandy and cinnamon cheese cake for dessert. 

goats cheese bon bons on beetroot risotto

We began with some little canapés a creamy parmesan crisp which melted in the mouth and a fresh anchovy and cavier on a crunchy mini bruschetta. The risotto was beautifully smooth with that little bite you look for in a risotto. The sharpness of the goats cheese was pitched just right, a great starter. It only gave me the appetite for more, which is a good thing.

roasted pheasant with all the trimmings

Served with a shot of red wine jelly I had a feeling that this pheasant dish was going to be something rather special. Pheasant is not something I eat a lot of but I wanted to go for something a bit different from roast beef or lamb and this hit the spot. The sausage and cranberry stuffing was exactly how I like my festive stuffing, meaty and lots of flavour, stuffing should not be just an after thought. The portion of meat was huge and the roasties fluffy and crispy. I could go on about the parsnip pureé and smooth gravy also but I think you get the general idea.  Basically if their Sunday roasts are as good as this was get down to the Navy Volunteer immediately, a genuinely good roast, and I never go out for roasts as I am often very disappointed. 

Apple, Brandy and Cinnamon Cheesecake

In what looked a bit like a sea of beige and olive green the pudding arrived. A whipped apple, cinnamon and brandy cheesecake. This was again very good, quite rich, as all good puddings are. I couldn't taste the brandy much but I didn't mind this was an excellent dessert and a perfect ending to a wonderful meal. 

I don't want to pat myself on the back for booking such a successful work Christmas lunch but I think I do deserve it a little. I cannot wait to take Rich for a roast or dinner here, this pub offers some superb food and the service we experienced was friendly, intuitive and made the meal even more special. If you haven't already been to the Royal Navy Volunteer, what are you waiting for?  To find out what else they have to offer, check out their website.