The Stables Pub & Eatery

After many enquiries as to where to get a decent Sunday roast, I followed the advice of two fellow foodies, and chose to venture to The Stables Pub & Eatery, in Garston Village.

Not your usual trip down the road to your local pub for a run of the mill meal, this expedition required special forward planning, as I was advised to book a table, and a taxi...

Neatly tucked away between shops and bookies, The Stables is unassuming from the outside, but houses a clean, classy interior. The staff are friendly, but not overbearing, much like the laid back live music being strummed by the duo in the corner.

Luckily there weren't too many choices to be made as far as the Sunday set menu was concerned, a simple choice between soup of the day, ham hock terrine and some asparagus dish with a poached egg on top.

I obviously went for the terrine- which came with home made piccalilli (not really a great fan of this usually, but this wasn't a bad effort at all- not too vinegary, which is good) and warm bread. After cleansing my palate with a swill of the house red, I awaited my roast chicken.

Although is breaks with tradition, I was disappointed that my meal was served without a Yorkshire pudding (or a sauce of any description, apart from the gravy). My co-diners both ordered the beef and had a golden fluffy pud, perched on the side of their plates brimming with gravy.

My mother was kind enough (as she's allergic to gluten) to donate her Yorkie to my worthy cause. The crisp skin of the chicken softened slightly with the rich, meaty gravy and contrasted well with the al dente vegetables- courgette, green beans and carrot. The roast potatoes and parsnips weren't the best I've ever had, but to me, the meat was the star of the show anyway!

After struggling to finish this rich meal, I reached the difficult decision not to have a dessert- very unusual for me. The first time, in a long time that I've been defeated by a meal! So my advice- book it! It's reasonably priced at £13.95 for two courses and quite a family friendly place on a Sunday afternoon, so beware of small children running underfoot!

You'd have to be clucking mad to eat at Nando's!

I had a vague memory of eating at Nando's some years ago. It was nothing special, just simple, inoffensive food. As of last Sunday, my impressions have certainly changed!

As a bit of a last resort, we decided to grab a bite to eat in Liverpool One's food court. Nando's was the only place still open- so what choice did we have?
The menu read: chicken, chicken, and more chicken! If it wasn't their breasts, it was their livers or their poor wings! Don't get me wrong, I'm an omnivore at heart, but how many innocent chickens are slaughtered a week just to keep up with the demands or these hardcore chicken fans?!

With the option of having a whole chicken, or even two to myself seeming a bit daunting, I opted for the chicken breast fillet in a pitta with salad and chips on the side- simple!
Now I hate to harp on about chicken, but when I say these people like chicken I mean it! The chips even tasted like they'd been deep fried in chicken fat- not a drop goes to waste here!
To top-off our evening, we had a poultry panto act, in the form of our cap wearing waiter. He regularly, seemingly appeared out of nowhere, often startling us with his idle patter- I never thought the phrase "Okey Dokey!" would cause someone to jump out of their skin, but he certainly had a knack!
Between dropping cutlery on us and messing up our beer order, we actually had a really good night! Must have been the company!
My advice- go and see the colonel if you want chicken!