We often dine in the main restaurant of the Pipe & Glass and are always delighted with the experience.
We visited Beverley the other Saturday and decided to drive on out to the P&G for an impromptu lunch in the bar restaurant which requires no reservation.
Looking through the menu and the Specials Board I opted for the James White Sausages with Bubble and Squeak and Innspire Ale Gravy and Mrs Wanderer went for the Pipe & Glass Ploughman’s.
The dishes arrived relatively quickly and I actually think we were served them by James Mackenzie, Chef Owner, himself. The disappointment then began. I’ve had the sausages before but this time around they were seemingly flaccid with very little browning. The skins were extremely chewy and difficult to cut and one skin came off the sausage in almost one piece which was very unappetising. Cutting the skins was made all the more difficult by the steep sided bowl/plate that the sausages were served up in and I can’t help thinking that a normal flat plate would make that task easier.
I detest having to spoon food onto a fork when eating as it is so ungainly but the sausages were so crumbly that when I tried to prong them with the fork they broke up into small pieces. A very disappointing meal.
Mrs W’s ploughman’s was a large platter of assorted cheeses, meats and chicken liver parfait. The plate shape and size made it a little difficult to constrain the offering and she was surprised to find a number of cornichons hiding under the prosciutto. There were a couple of chutneys on the platter but one she felt was a little too ‘Christmassy’ for her liking.
Her main gripe though was that, given the amount of cheeses and meats, there was only one relatively small slice of sourdough to accompany even though there was enough butter for two. A diner on another table had ordered chicken liver parfait, as a starter or main I’m not sure, but they were served two slices. Whether the lack of bread was an oversight we don’t know but two slices would fit the meal better.
Mrs W did say that the charcuterie platter that we’ve had in our room when staying at the P&G was far better and more enjoyable, and not much different in price either.
All in all a mixed bag but it won’t stop us returning in the future.
The Willoughton Wanderer 
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