The Salusbury

Andy I. (40s, Male, London)

Sadly, walked into this pub for a nice Sunday meal. Saw friends in the bar area and got a table without having to book. Served by waitress who was sadly not intelligible. On the menu was an old favourite of mine, Leek and Potato Soup. My partner had the tuna starter.

What a disaster! Two simple dishes totally ruined. The leek and potato soup was dish water and had a hint or slight trace of leek with water strained through a boiled spud. It was just someone trying to make a poor soup go round by chucking in galleon of water for more servings.

The tuna was no better as it had no taste, a dressing that was bland and the whole presentation pretentious and failed to inspire once tasted. These were sent back uneaten as disappointed and the mains arrived.

Mine was veal drenched in slops of heavy gravy from the roast with diced carrots and a ‘risotto’ that was as oily as a triumph bonneville's engine. An awful taste as the meat was hidden under this disgusting slop of gravy from a tin and had no flavour you could enjoy and the rice was plopped onto the plate as if it were a lump of lard and quite hard to tell if it wasn't just cooked in lard and then doused in cheap oil.

My partner ordered the safe bet, Chicken. Served on a bed of over cooked spinach and cold potatoes (not that there were meant to be served cold) and everything tasted of salt. So much salt that we decided the place must be trying to push drink sales with the food. This too was sent back uneaten.

We did state that the food was not at all decent and truth is I would not feel fit to serve to anyone I would call a friend and our waitress grimaced as if to say, “ Oh dear” as she took the plates away. She did however return with our bill for £51 something that included a service charge. I, being a true Brit paid and vowed to myself never to go again unless I wanted to be really ill or hated myself so much that failing contracting syphilis, eating here would be the next best thing.

Why does this pub feel they are gastro-enteritis pub serving complicated dishes that they do not understand, that they had tasted in a decent restaurant that had served them the food and they loved it, does not mean they can steal their menu ideas and recreate.

Beware all those looking for a square meal at this pub as if like us the chef is having a day off and the local bike mechanic is standing in, you will get what we got and hopefully you will only allow yourself to be ripped off once too.