Pub lunch: Marston's pubs

Red Admiral
Hacket Place
Trowbridge
BA14 7GW
Tel: 01225 767400
http://www.redadmiralpub.co.uk/

Although the last few weeks have tended to involve eating at relatively high-end eateries such as the Crown Social in Cardiff, Pier 64 in Penarth, and L’Escargot in London, I’m just as happy checking out more budget-friendly places to eat. Indeed, sometimes a good pub meal is just what you need. This weekend saw me visiting some family in the Trowbridge area of Wiltshire where we happened into a Marston’s 2 for 1pub, The Red Admiral. It’s a newly built pub and still looks it; it’s also fairly large with a decent sized beer garden and so likely to be able to withstand hungry Sunday hoards or the summer beer garden crush.

However, I’m interested here in focusing on the food since the Cardiff and Vale area has a few Marston’s pubs of their own – the new Sand Martin by the Cardiff City stadium (not a 2 for 1 restaurant), the long-established Cayo on Cathedral Road, the Cherry Orchard in Barry and the Barn near Llantrisant. The Cherry Orchard is the only one that shares the exact same menu with the Red Admiral whilst The Barn has some of the dishes but not others.

Overall, the comments below will hopefully help you to decide if these are the sort of places for you or not.

For a starter I chose the Ham & Orange Terrine with parsley, served with salad and bread - I was pleased to see something slightly different to the usual pub starters of soup, breaded mushrooms, nachos and potato skins on offer so opted to try this tasty sounding terrine. The portion was a good size for a starter but the terrine was a little over-salted and needed a stronger citrus lift from the orange zest to balance this. A little splash of dressing on the salad leaves would also have been welcome but overall this was a fairly pleasant starter.

The Ale & Hearty pie (Beef and Pedigree Ale Pie on the Cherry Orchard menu) – with chips, peas and gravy. The pie was excellent, with perfect pastry and copious amounts of beef. A little more of the taste of the real ale in the sauce would have been good but overall, as a pie connoisseur, I was very impressed.

For main courses, we also sampled the sea bass with crayfish and haddocks in cheese sauce from the specials menu and a steak and mushroom salad which was bursting with steak but contained far too much strong raw red onion which overpowered the entire dish.

The desserts of Peach & apricot frangipane, Strawberry Waffle Cheesecake, Deep Dish Apple Pie and Chocolate Indulgence Sundae were all very nice although you can get similar fare in most pub chains. They were well presented though and made a tasty sweet treat at the end of the meal.

There are a handful of dishes containing less than 500 calories for those watching their waistline and a copious range of specials on the specials board. It was also great value for money with five 3-course lunches, three glasses of wine, two pints of real ale, and 4 soft drinks coming in at under £95.

The Marston’s group seems to be aiming for a range of clientele however, and the Cayo for example has a slightly more refined menu whilst still offering a range of deals such as £4.95 meals, £7.99 bottles of wine and sharers and a bottle of wine for £15.

Overall, based on my experience of the Red Admiral I’d certainly give other Marston’s pubs a try. It’s not haute cuisine and many of the dishes are tried-and-tested but the food quality and service is good for the price. For a bite to eat after a day out or a cheap mid-week meal out, it’s worth a visit.

Food - 7/10
Service 7/10
Atmosphere 7/10