After a long week, I was looking forward to visiting The Grove Inn at Pentre and I was not disappointed.
My boyfriend, Rich, and I found the pub easily and were pleased to see the welcoming lights of the bar and restaurant on a cold and dark evening.
There was ample parking at the rear of the premises and as we walked in we were warmly greeted by the staff.
We ordered drinks from the bar which offered a wide selection of tipples and wandered over to sit by a roaring open fire to select our food from the menu.
The décor of The Grove Inn is very pleasant and homely. There are several stone fireplaces and the carpet, chairs and curtains have a rich red and blue theme which contrast well with the neutral cream walls.
Having made our choice, we ordered. Although tempted by the potato skins done Grove style, I opted for the homemade paté with warm toasty fingers.
The food arrived promptly and I really enjoyed smothering the toast in the generous serving of the smooth pate packed with flavour.
Rich decided not to have a starter as he wanted to save himself for the main course.
I was impressed by the choice of fish and vegetarian choices on the menu but in the end we both opted for steaks and when they arrived, I realised I had made an excellent decision.
Rich had an 8-10oz fillet steak and I had a sirloin steak. Both were cooked to perfection – medium rare and were ever so tender. Accompanying our steaks was a piquant pepper sauce. Rich said he particularly enjoyed this as so many pepper sauces are bland. We also gorged ourselves on chips, mushrooms and freshly cooked vegetables.
Although we were feeling a little full, we wanted to sample the desserts too, so we chose a slice of caramel and apple pie with ice cream to share. I was nearly swayed by the jubilee pancakes, but felt that the pie was just what the winter evening called for.
Again it arrived swiftly and we tucked into the delicious sweet treat. The crisp pastry coupled with the caramel sauce and cold ice cream was superb.
As we were settling back with full stomachs, the pub was getting quite full with guests and we saw that an Elvis lookalike was setting up for karaoke.
There are several areas to the bar each with comfy seats and for those who like holding a cue in one hand and a pint in the other there is also a pool table.
A lively atmosphere was created as people started to sing their favourite tunes and although encouraged to join in the fun, I couldn’t inflict my voice on the people of Pentre so we discreetly made our exit as the entertainment carried on.
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to The Grove which was made so pleasurable by the warm welcome we received from the staff and the owner and chef Anthony Daniels.