Sunday Roast, The Old Forge, Otterbourne
January blues hit hard this year and I think the best way to make it through a long and cold month is with lots of comfort food. The most comforting dish of all (in my opinion) is a roast dinner.
The Old Forge has always been a pub that I've enjoyed visiting so after recently having a face lift, I was really excited to see how it had changed. So with that in mind, I thought where best to feed by longing for a roast dinner on a dull January day.
Towards the end of 2019, The Old Forge closed for an 8 day refurbishment. Before this, the pub was a pretty traditional English pub. But now, it has a completely new, very chic vibe with wooden panelling adding a touch of elegance while the exposed brick wall still shows the pubs character. I honestly can't believe how much it's changed inside. Photos below are from the pubs website as it was very busy when we went in and I just couldn't capture how beautiful the decor is.
Decor aside, The Old Forge always had a great menu and the food was really good. I feel like they have made a few tweaks to their menu to reflect their new fancy interior.
We picked the roast chicken and roast beef, two classic dishes. All roasts are served with smoked beef dripping roast potatoes, seasonal greens, roasted root veg, Yorkshire pudding and bottomless gravy.
The chicken also comes with bread sauce and stuffing wrapped in bacon while the beef is accompanied by course-grain mustard seasoning.
As you can see from the photos below, the veg arrived on a side plate in the middle and we also treated ourselves to an extra side of cauli cheese, which was more than enough for us to share. I feel that without the cauli cheese it would have been a little light on the veg front, therefore I would defiantly recommend adding an extra side if you aren't having a starter or dessert.
Roast Chicken option
Roast Beef option
The meat portion was a really good size, especially the chicken, which as you can see from the above photo is actually a half of chicken. If I'm being fussy (which I am) I'm pretty sure those Yorkshire's weren't home made, and it would have been nice if they had been (sorry if I'm wrong here, but if I am, then they just need a little extra TLC to get them on point).
After our main, we had just enough space to squeeze in some dessert and boy am I glad we did. We had The Ambassadors Melting Chocolate & Hazelnut Bomb and the Lemon Meringue Flamed Alaska. They were both so indulgent but for different reasons which meant they were a perfect combo if you are someone who likes to share dessert. The chocolate bomb was, as you'd imagine, extremely chocolatey whereas the lemon was sharp and zesy.
Top : The Ambassadors Melting Chocolate & Hazelnut Bomb
Bottom : Lemon Meringue Flamed Alaska
As per usual, we had a really lovely meal at The Old Forge. The new decor is tastefully done and I'm so impressed with how quickly they turned it around.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at The Old Forge and I look froward to visiting again soon.
(All pictures taken & owned by SistersDineOut unless otherwise stated)
