The Grumpy Mole

The food was good. I had the salmon to start which was huge at least enough for two people. Then I had the duck, which I found was a good portion and cooked very well but I wasn’t keen on the Madeira sauce, it was very sweet. We were a relatively large group, 10 people, and the way they had arranged the table meant I was caught in a corner, which was annoying. All in all, a bit average.

Oh I used to love this place…
It really was one of my favourite restuarants, and everyone else I took there loved it too. However, I think it’s now a victim of its own success — they overbook, so it’s extremely cramped, they don’t have enough staff on and the menu that has not changed in 4 years is getting stale. The food is just not what it once was and I doubt that I will be going back there, which is really sad, as it once was absolutely amazing.

Quick glance:
+ great ambiance for meals with family and friends
+ beautiful food
+ good selection of ales and wines
+ big portion sizes…
— … make up for some dishes that lack in oomph
I came here for a family meal and really appreciated the great ambiance afforded by the warm decorations in and around the premise, including the ladies. The staff are friendly although sometimes not the sharpest (for example, brought water to the wrong table, took awhile to tidy away our empty dishes), but these fairly minor things that don’t detract much from the pleasure of the meal.
The food were beautifully prepared and presented, using very fresh ingredients. I had the crayfish salad to start which was dressed in a thai-​chilli mixture that wasn’t particularly spicy but quite flavoursome, colourfully presented which really whetted my appetite. My main of seabass and prawns in a white wine cream sauce was delicious, although the baby prawns were slightly disappointing (but that was partly my fault as I had envisioned a couple of large tiger prawn swimming with my filet of sea bass). I also had the chocolate roulade to finish, which was light and fluffy (and very naughty for lunch!).
One of us had the beef stroganoff and the portion size was absolutely huge, but we felt it might have been compensating slightly for the lack of ‘oomph’ (although we all have a slightly different expectations of what a beef stroganoff should be like as there are so many variations!). The beef was very tender though and it was certainly a pleasant dish. Another one of us had the venison wellington that was perfectly cooked.
All in all, the Grumpy Mole was nice pub for a (rainy) day to have a drink (or few) and food as it was so warm and welcoming inside. There were also some outside seating immediately in front of the pub, but we’ll have to come back on a sunny day for that!