Jamie Graham

Review of The Old Barge Pub

A mixed experience. The Old Barge was well reviewe...

A mixed experience. The Old Barge was well reviewed and we saw on their website that they did Sunday roasts, so we dropped by to experience it. Firstly I should say the staff were friendly and attentive, and the best part of the experience, but the food itself could have been better.

We both had a slow-cooked beef roast dinner. My beef - rather than being tender (my assumption from being slow-cooked), was quite tough. In fact some of it was inedible because it was dry and even blackened at the corners. I imagine it had been at the surface of the slow cooker and thus caught, so I had to leave bits of the meat, which was not a promising start.

The veg that came alongside was similarly mediocre - the swede was completely underdone and almost difficult to chew. The other veg was generally acceptable and mostly boiled to the point of tastelessness. The highlights were the roast potatoes however, which were great. The Yorkshire pudding was also to a good standard.

For dessert we had a fruit crumble with custard (great) and the Bailey's bread and butter pudding (even greater), which saved the meal in our opinion.

Other than that, the choice of beers was good and our selections were of good quality. Overall I'd recommend a visit but avoid the Sunday roast like the plague.