The Admiral Codrington

When so many Sunday lunches are clearly kept around waiting to be served, meaning the vegetables and potatoes start to go, it was great to see an excellent roast beef plate, with perfectly well cooked vegetables and potatoes. The food here is well cooked and freshly made, sadly not something I can say for so many other venues. Well worth a visit if a good Sunday roast is what you are after. Don't waste your money on poor quality or imitations. The staff were attentive and accommodating the different needs of our party of various ages, the mash was “delicious” to quote our younger diner.

As I’ve mentioned in my earlier reviews, I really enjoy the British pub grub type places. I’m obviously not referring to the smelly boozer hang-outs, but the slightly more polished pubs. The Cod is probably one of the best examples and has been one of my favourites for a long time, not so much for the excellent food, but more for the atmosphere and the pleasant staff. That said, I really do enjoy their menu. As I am a big meat-fan, I went for the steak tartar as a starter and the rump steak to follow. The steak tartar was excellently spiced, and although the actual portion was quite small, I liked the fact that enough bread was served with it, which usually isn’t the case at most places. The steak didn’t have any flaws and the peppercorn sauce was great, admittedly a difficult dish to fail with.

I was surprised to see that the dining section of the pub was quite empty. In fact, we were probably the second or third company of people when we arrived at around 8-9 pm. My memory tells me that this hasn’t usually been the case, at least let’s hope it isn’t a new trend. The interior is fairly simple and straight-forward, just like you would expect from this type of venue. Compared to my local favourite, the Duke, the Cod is slightly more sophisticated, and the sound level more akin to a “normal” brasserie-style restaurant, rather than a loud pub.

As a conclusion, this is a great, although not super-cheap, place to go with a bunch of friends who appreciate simple but well-executed food. I wouldn’t dismiss it as a good date place either as it is quite laid-back and usually has a buzzy atmosphere.