Victoria hotel, Dovecote Lane, Beeston, NG9 1JG

After over 2 months of fanying about, I decided it was time to get my ass into gear and complete the circuit of Derby districts finest eateries and re-visit some again, en route.
The furthest blip on my radar is currently the Victoria Hotel in Beeston, a bit close to Nottingham I hear some of you saying, but we got there in my motor quicker than you can say "Derby County 3, Nottingham Forest O" (December 2004 - honest).
Tucked amongst a housing estate, next to Beeston train station and with sardine tight parking, the Victoria hotel ticks bundles of boxes. A gem of a real ale pub, that also prides itself on it’s massive selection of blended and single malt whiskies, live music during selected Saturday and Sunday afternoons and reputedly pukka pub food, oh and it’s mobile free..... fan-pub-tastic!
I believe the evenings can be chock-a-block, but this lunchtime we had no problem getting a table in the sun filled main room.
Real ale, cider and a couple of lagers were ordered and within minutes two plates of shared starters arrived. Both vegetarian, to allow all four of us share (my oldest school buddy being one of "them"). The vegetarian pate (£4.95) was basically mashed up blue cheese and extremely strong, but when taken with a bit of melba toast and some of the dressed salad it came down to earth. The second plate, of olives, hoummus and pitta attracted more attention with fingers of freshly grilled pitta to dip and share and some fat, sweet olives to soak up the beers.

For mains my veggie companion had the vegetarian burritos (£7.95). Three flour tortillas filled with a spicy been chilli and topped with melted cheese and sour cream, a crispy fresh salad kept it company. The ladies had scallops with pea risotto (£11.95) and a chicken supreme (£8.95). Three plump scallops wrapped in prosciuto, crowned a zesty lemon and pea risotto, whilst a pan fried breast of chicken came with a timbale of couscous and a diced pepper infused light gravy. The girls played musical plates until they were satisfied they'd tried enough of each others (well that’s part of the fun, isn’t it?).Yours truly had the Keftedes (£8.50), a trio of Greek style lamb meatballs with rice, sour cream and a crisp side salad. I wasn’t sharing mine with anyone!

There was still room in our tanks for a couple of desserts to share. The sticky toffee pudding with custard (£3.95) and apple crumble with custard (£3.95) were both “old school puds”, but I guess that’s what the doctor ordered.
This gaff is definitely worth a trip out. It’s just a shame it’s the other side of the M1 and under the wing of Nottingham.

Visit and enjoy, but take your “Up the Rams “ car sticker out of your car's rear window for the night !!

Oh, and my long standing veggie mate was as pleased as punch. Phew....

Food 8/10
Service 7/10

Venue 9/10

(Beer 9/10) I've added this in for the Vic.

Telephone: 0115 9254049

www.victoriabeeston.co.uk

Navigation Inn, Shardlow, Derby

Phew, what a busy couple of months it's been! I've been fortunate enough to go to The Seafood restaurant (Rick Stein's), Jamie Oliver's award winning 15 Cornwall (Best Restaurant view in the UK award) and more recently Aaron Patterson's Hambleton Hall in Rutland. Lunch here set me back nearly £240 smackers, severely denting my 'eating out' budget for May. Worth every penny though!
Anyway back to the task in hand, it's Sunday, it's sunny and me and the Mrs fancy a run out with a view to having a lunch. "Shardlow" I screech. A quick pint outside the picturesque Malt Shovel then it's back up the road to the Nagivation Inn for lunch.
Taken over a few years ago by Ian & Kim (formerly of various eateries in Nottingham: The Grill Room, etc) This large pub en route to East Midlands airport (I will never call it Nottingham airport!) serves better than your average pub food, with Ian still at the helm. On a sunny day it's perfect with stack's of tables outside and an area the size of an aircraft hanger for the kids to suitable run around. Drink in hand we scoured the printed menu. It was decided a Blue Cheese, potato & bacon salad (£4.90) to share as a starter, Roast beef, Yorkshire pudding with horseradish sauce (£8.50) pour moi & a main size portion of Tuna nicoise (£8.90) for Bec. My pint slipped down well under the warm afternoon sun, but Bec's Pepsi didn't have enough syrup (it was obviously one of those mixer taps) and was just a glass of Pepsi flavoured water. Yuck!
Due to Bec's dislike of strong cheeses, it was down to me to polish off the majority of the starter. No complaints from me. Mains arrived. My large piece of beef was accompanied by an abundant plate of veg, it actually looked like two plates of food, I suggest a different shape receptacle for accompanying veg. I could see Bec wasn't going to be happy with the large quantity of tomatoes & olives that adorned her salad, ah well....... My choice was just what the doctor ordered, beef still a "bit" pink, plenty of veg & gravy, however no horseradish sauce (well nothing that tasted of horseradish anyway). The only real down point was when Bec complained of the Pepsiless Pepsi, no "sorry, can I get you anything else" or "apologies, please accept a fresh one", just nothing! I hope the service doesn't start to let this place down, Ian's a great chef/cook, but you don't need all the hard work you've done in the kitchen, undone by young staff who don't really give a hoot. I recommended the Navigation to a friend a few days later, the friend who I will call Steve Bailey for fear of disclosing his real identity, reiterated my service fears, veg never arrived and they even forgot to bring the change back at the end of the meal.
Guys, tighten the service reigns and you'll have a good gastropub on your hands, not just another pub selling food.
Food 6.5/10
Service 5/10
Venue 7/10
Tel: 01332 792918

"Oh, the heads that turn, make my back burn" (She Sell's Sanctuary, The Cult, 1985)

Martin, Sunday 3rd June, 2007

Saracens Head, Shirley, Derbyshire.

The Saracens Head, Shirley, halfway between Derby and Ashbourne, has recently been taken over by the crew from the Red Lion at Hollington, a pub which has achieved entries in some of the UK's leading eating and drinking guides. Having been to the Red Lion several times, I was keen to give their new venture a go.
My initial thought when I walked in was, it's too bright. I reckon some of the lamps should have softer lit bulbs, to make the place appear more cosy (and save money), and let the candles on tables get a look in.
The menu was displayed on a large chalk board. I like this, it says 'seasonal' and 'fresh' to me. However I was disappointed to see the only fish option, Lager battered fish and chunky chips, was crossed off, a second 'lighter' fish dish on the menu would have been good.
When we both saw the size of the portions being placed on the adjacent table, we decided a starter to share would be enough. Goats cheese wrapped in pancetta (about £4) came with a mound of fresh crunchy leaves and a tangy dressing. With two of us hacking away, it didn't last long.
Bec had Char grilled lemon, rosemary and garlic chicken with asparagus and tagliettelle (£7.50), she was easily beaten by the large amount of pasta. Pour moi it was Steak and mushroom pie with chunky chips and veg (£7.95). Both plates came piping hot, and as with Bec, I was beaten by the sheer volume of food. I was marginally disappointed that it wasn't actualy pie, but a plate full of stew with a cut out square of puff pastry, placed precariously on top, however my veg was spot on.
This is hearty pub grub, very much pie and chips stuff, but perfect for rounding off a long walk on a Winter's day, accompanied by a pint of real ale and a roaring log fire (they had both of these). They could definitely tweek the menu, by adding one more fish and vegetarian option. It's early days and they may eventually take it in an entirely different direction.
Maybe closed on Monday's.
Food 6.5/10
Service 6.5/10
Venue 6/10
Tel: 01335 360330

"We're goin down the pub" (Hurry up Harry, Sham 69, 1978)
Martin, Thursday 1st February, 2007