Often
on a Sunday, my wife and I (mainly me) enjoy nothing more than heading out to
find a charming gastropub. Working through my list,
we (she) generally like to keep within an hour’s drive of Manchester.
On the recent bank holiday Monday, with my wife having to work, I decided
to drive a little further from our usual catchment area to The Duncombe Arms in the leafy village of
Ellastone on the border of Staffordshire and Derbyshire.
What
Michelin say: ‘A stylish dining pub
owned by the Hon. Johnny Greenall - of the famous brewery family: his wife,
Laura, is a descendant of the Duncombe family after which the pub is named.
Food keeps to a core of classic pub dishes.’
The food I ate was all
good quality pub favourites with contemporary twists; the twists being “@WeWantPlates” style presentation –
things on wooden boards and slates; a pie in a dinky saucepan and, anything
which had been fried (whitebait & chips), arrived in a mini fryer baskets.
All flavours were good –
the saffron suitably subtle in the aioli; the apple purée with the terrine not
too sweet and the dark chocolate fondant had good bitter notes complemented by
the rich stout ice cream.
The biggest
disappointment was the ‘pie’ (better described as a ‘pot pie’) – although
generously filled with meat, the cubes of steak were rather tough. The pastry
was a disappointment too – I’ve had some great pot pies (the Lapin au Vin at
Daniel Boulud’s place in Singapore is one of the finest things I’ve ever eaten
- here)
so am not anti using pastry as a topping as opposed to an all encasing pie, but
this dry disc of dull pastry didn’t even feel part of the dish. Certainly one
of the most disappointing pies I’ve had in recent memory.
The saving grace was the
excellent mash and braided red cabbage. A side of Triple cooked chunky chips and some Skinny fries with truffle & parmesan (well, I had to check them
out, didn’t I?) completed my carb overload.
Crispy whitebait, saffron
aioli
Braised pig’s head terrine,
apple, radish & shallot salad
Steak & ale pie, mashed potato,
braised red cabbage
Honey roasted Chantenay
carrots /
Skinny fries with truffle & parmesan
Dark chocolate fondant, stout
ice cream
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