Whether you fancy a lunchtime sandwich, a Sunday roast, a full-on steak dinner or a pudding and pie special for £6, then the Nags Head, Pontesbury, is the place to head for.
Right on the edge of the village, the traditional-looking pub has a light and airy interior – much of it laid out for dining – and a pool table and plenty of room at the bar for someone just wanting to wash the dust away.
The three of us, hubby, daughter and I, did not know what to expect as we went in and settled down at our table, but the waitress was on hand to explain about the £6 pudding and pie – on the day we were there, the choice was sausage, steak and Hobgoblin ale pies or steamed mushroom puddings and treacle tart, banoffee pie or lemon bread and butter pudding.
However, our appetites were bigger, so we looked at the main menu for inspiration. I was torn for a starter between the chicken liver pate with red onion marmalade (£4.25) or the creamy garlic mushrooms sautéed in creamy garlic butter sauce served on a toasted crouton (£4.75), while himself and the littlun decided to share a deep fried combo of brie bites, breaded garlic mushrooms, onion rings, chicken goujons and potato wedges with dips (£5.25).
The main courses were even more difficult to decide – among my shortlist was a 7oz cod fillet with chips and peas (£7.95); a 12oz gammon steak with all the trimmings (£9.25) or a pork parcel stuffed with black pudding and apple, served with a cider cream sauce and vegetables (£9.55). In the end I decided to have a 6oz rump steak sandwich with onion relish and Stilton mushrooms, salad and chips (£8.95).
Himself was also torn between going the whole hog and having the mixed grill – lamb chop, pork chop, gammon, steak and black pudding with tomato, chips and peas (£12.75) or home-made rabbit casserole with wine, marjoram and mustard and fresh vegetables (£8.95). In the end, he went for the fish, a chargrilled tuna steak with home-made chilli dressing, salad and chips. Little Miss chose chicken nuggets, beans and chips.
My paté was lovely and light and there was positive feedback from the others over the combo. The steak sandwich was beautifully cooked, and the chips were, to quote my daughter, ‘lovely and crispy’. Hubby was very impressed with his tuna steak, which was nice and moist, and again commented on the chips, and the child made good progress on her course too. As for dessert, we decided to share an apple crumble and ice cream, which didn’t touch the sides!
The menu caters well for vegetarians, with a veggie version of the combo in the starters, plus roasted vegetable bake (£7.95) or vegetable chilli con carne (£7.95).
The Sunday lunch menu is made up of starters of soup (£3.25), garlic mushrooms (£4.65) or pate (£3.95) with a main course at £6.25, and there is the Golden Oldies lunch menu, with two courses for £5.25, plus the Snackwitches menu. I also had a sneak preview of the Christmas party, Christmas day and New Year’s eve menus, all of which were mouth-watering.
This pub is well worth a visit, the menu is modern without being flashy, the portions are good sized without being all garnish, and the choice is so big you would have to come back again to try the thing you weren’t able to have this time – for me, it will be the cod and chips, I think.
