Our first guest restaurant review from Dave Bro feat. Jen.
On Saturday I asked a few people, including my brother Joe, if they had any recommendations for good pub grub in Horsforth for a Sunday dinner. A few names cropped up (Town Street Tavern, The Woodside, Medusa Bar) and after having a quick butchers online we decided to go for The Woodside. It looked to be more of a 'proper pub', which to me means a nice atmosphere, maybe a fireplace or two, comfy seats well suited to lounging/newspaper reading and good quality, simple, homely food. Company was provided by my equally hung over and hungry buddy Jennie Chapman.
On arrival Jen was quick to point out that the outside could do with a spruce up, which is right as it didn't look great, but once we opened the main entrance door and the smell of a hot carvery came wafting into our faces we'd forgotten about the dodgy external paint jobs and hunted out some comfy seats. After a couple of standard Coffee's (one of which we took back - Jen's - because it's was very weak) and a peruse over yesterday's football reports, we had a linger over the menu. The Woodside has a good reputation for it's carvery and the queue for it was getting longer by the minute, but after much deliberation we both went for menu items - Jen a lamb shank with peas and rosemary mash, me a mixed grill with all the usual suspects.
Apart from the chicken breast in the mixed grill which was so tough and dry it would have made a good slipper, the rest of it was good. Gammon, steak (medium rare), Lincolnshire sausages, black pudding, home made chunky chips etc etc, all very tasty and well cooked. Jen wasn't so lucky. After a promising first few mouthfuls it became quickly apparent that her lamb was a lot more bone than meat, her mash was pretty solid and tasted a lot more butter than potato and she kept finding bits of fluff on her plate/food. Not impressed. Upon speaking to the waiter he was suitably embarrassed and quick to take 50% from the final bill. Pretty fair I thought all things considered.
Apart from the chicken breast in the mixed grill which was so tough and dry it would have made a good slipper, the rest of it was good. Gammon, steak (medium rare), Lincolnshire sausages, black pudding, home made chunky chips etc etc, all very tasty and well cooked. Jen wasn't so lucky. After a promising first few mouthfuls it became quickly apparent that her lamb was a lot more bone than meat, her mash was pretty solid and tasted a lot more butter than potato and she kept finding bits of fluff on her plate/food. Not impressed. Upon speaking to the waiter he was suitably embarrassed and quick to take 50% from the final bill. Pretty fair I thought all things considered.
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| Mixed grill |
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| Lamb shank |
In conclusion.. I thought it was a shame they got one of our dishes so wrong because I liked the atmosphere, I liked the pub, the staff were friendly/attentive and my food was pretty good. Unfortunately though I am one of those that can see a hair in my gravy and that’s a wrap on the rest of the meal, I can't touch it. So with that in mind, I won't be returning to The Woodside any time soon, at least before trying other local establishments first (Town Street Tavern next I think). If I do ever return, I'll be waiting in the long carvery queue...
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| Jenny |
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| Dave Bro |
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