The Crown and Cushion at Minley Review

I don’t get to go out for dinner a huge amount, but when we have a birthday in our family (which is a fair bit with so many of us!) we like to celebrate by all going out for a meal together. We’ve been to various places over the years, but for some reason had never visited The Crown and Cushion pub in Minley, despite living nearby. So, back in March, we decided to book a table to celebrate my brother and sister’s birthdays (they’re within two weeks of each other) with an evening meal there. We have actually since been back again more recently as we liked it so much, so I thought I would tell you a bit about it in case you’re nearby and fancy checking it out!

The pub dates back to around 1512 and was converted into an Ale House in 1596. Alongside the pub lies Meade Hall, which was built from the remains of two old barns from the Salisbury area. Some of the timbers in the barn’s structure are said to have come from ships defeated in the Spanish Armada, so there’s plenty of history to take in! Some believe that both Meade Hall and the pub are now haunted, and many local people have seen spirits over the years (although apparently they are friendly!) 

You enter into a traditional and cosy part of the pub, with discrete corners warmed by candles and gentle lighting. As you continue through though, you move from the typical pub layout into a larger dining area, which is light, airy and modern but still full of character. This is where we were seated for our meal, and despite it not looking as cosy as the pub areas, there was still a relaxed but lively atmosphere. 

As we were served our drinks, we had a chance to browse through the extensive menu. I was really impressed with the choice on their main menu, as well as a specials board that regularly changes and a comprehensive vegan menu. If you’re into your gins, they also have a huge selection to choose from, along with a variety of different tonic waters. Our orders were soon taken, and we sat chatting while we waited for our starters. 

I don’t tend to get a proper starter most of the time, but when I saw that they had Hot Garlic & Herb Dough Balls with garlic butter dip on the menu, I knew I needed to find someone to share them with! You can either get eight or sixteen (we went for eight) and they were the perfect thing to nibble on while we waited for our main meals. I didn’t find the dough too heavy, and the garlic butter was perfect for dipping the dough balls in. I could have happily eaten more if I didn’t have a main meal coming!

A few other people had starters too, including my Dad, who went for the Fresh Prawn & Crayfish Cocktail & Marie Rose sauce. I didn’t taste it, but from the reaction of my Dad, it sounds like it was equally as good as the dough balls.

Unfortunately, the first time we visited, the service was quite slow, so we ended up waiting quite a while for our mains to arrive (thankfully the second time we went, the service was a lot better, so they must have been having a bad night). But our main course was definitely worth waiting for. I had chosen the Mushroom & Herb Risotto with rocket and Parmesan, as risotto is one of my absolute favourites. You could add chicken if you wanted to, but I kept it as it was. It was such a good risotto – probably one of the best I’ve had (so good, that I ended up ordering it again when we went back recently!) The rice and mushrooms were creamy and flavoursome and the rocket gave a nice crunch, adding a slightly different texture to the dish. I couldn’t quite manage it all, as it was so filling, but it wasn’t for want of trying – it was so tasty!

One of my siblings opted for the 8oz Sirloin Steak with slow-roast tomato, field mushroom and chunky chips. The steak was melt in the mouth and really tender, and the chunky chips were crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy in the middle – just as they should be! My brother Richard went for Cumberland Sausages, creamy mashed potato and onion gravy – as the waiter brought them to our table you could hear everyone saying ‘wow’ because of how big the sausages were! But it didn’t take long for my brother to polish them off, and he seemed to really enjoy the creamy mash (my favourite!) with the onion gravy.

No meal out is complete without a bit of pudding (who else makes sure they save a bit of room for pudding at the end?!) so after a bit of a wait, our desserts were brought to our table. I didn’t have much room left after devouring my risotto, so chose a fairly light option of Jude’s Blood Orange Sorbet. I love Jude’s Ice Creams anyway, but had never tried their sorbet, so was excited to see what it was like. It came beautifully presented and was the perfect refreshing way to end my meal.

My brother David went for something a little more indulgent (and chocolatey!) – the Chocolate Cookie Sundae with vanilla and chocolate ice cream, whipped cream, fresh baked cookie and ‘pour your own’ hot chocolate fudge sauce. It certainly looked incredible and didn’t last long once it was put in front of David!

Last but not least, my sister, Rosiie, chose the dessert off the specials menu – a Strawberry Eton mess sundae with ice cream, coulis, meringue, white chocolate chips and grilled white chocolate. It looked very pretty and summery when it arrived, and Rosiie said it was light, refreshing and very fruity – just what you want on a warm spring evening (plus you can convince yourself you’re being healthy because it has fruit in it!) 

Overall, we all had a lovely celebration meal at The Crown and Cushion, so much so that we’ve already been back and plan to go again soon! Apart from the slow service the first time we went, the staff were attentive and friendly and made us feel really welcome. The food was incredibly delicious and we were all really impressed with the amount of choice there was. As the pub is only a few miles from our house, we will definitely be paying it more regular visits in the future and look forward to trying some other dishes from the menus.

Have you had a meal at The Crown and Cushion if you live nearby? Are there any other restaurants you would like to see me review?

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The Bull Bracknell Review*

When I received an invitation to go and review The Bull Bracknell it didn’t take me long to say yes! I didn’t know much about it, but had been past when I went to The Lexicon when it first opened. I mentioned it to my Dad, as The Bull kindly offered to gift me and a plus one with a three-course meal, and he told me how he used to go to the original The Bull pub years ago, when he worked in Bracknell! So he was really interested to see what they had done with the place.

The Bull is one of Bracknell’s oldest and most loved buildings, but it has been given a new lease of life with the help of the premium pub company, Young’s. The brand is known for serving seasonal British food and drink, from craft beers and classic gin and tonics to fine wine. The original part of The Bull is a Grade II listed building, which stands at the heart of the town centre. However, it doesn’t look like the old, slightly run-down pub that it used to be. Instead, it has undergone an extensive refurbishment to restore it to its former glory, as well as having the addition of a modern, light and airy extension to the rear.

I’ll be completely honest and say that I wasn’t expecting that much from our visit – standard pub grub and a dark and dingy interior were what I had in mind. So I was incredibly pleasantly surprised when we stepped inside the newly refurbished building. I could automatically feel the warm and cosy atmosphere of the old pub, as I made my way with my wheelchair round to the extension at the back. They even had a wheelchair lift to get me down a few stairs between the old and the new! Going into the new part of the pub, the high ceilings, made from original wooden beams with impressive arches and exposed brickwork, struck us. It didn’t look like it should work, but it totally does! We were shown to our booth, where we made ourselves comfortable and browsed through the menu.

As I mentioned, The Bull had kindly offered myself and a guest a three-course meal to review. But we decided to bring my Mum along as well and pay for her meal separately. We started by choosing our drinks – my Dad went for a Hogsback TEA, I went for an orange juice and lemonade and my Mum had a Diet Coke. The staff were very attentive and helped us with any questions we had about the items on the menu, and we had soon placed our orders.

For our starter, we decided to go for something we could all share – a selection of artisan breads, garlic butter, extra virgin olive oil and sweet tomato relish, coming in at £6.25. Our eyes lit up when they brought the board out – just look at those chunks of bread! I’m not usually one for chutneys or relishes, but the sweet tomato relish was insane. Unfortunately, there was too much bread for us to get through, but what we managed to eat was so good.

We didn’t have long to wait for our main courses, and boy did they smell and look good! I had trouble picking because everything looked so amazing, but in the end I went for a seasonal game short crust pastry pie, buttered Chantenay carrots and creamy mash for £13.95. I don’t really eat a lot of red meat, and had never tried game before, but I’m a sucker for pie and mash (especially mash) so knew I needed to try it. And I’m so glad I did. The meat inside the pie was tender and so incredibly flavorsome, and it came with this amazing gravy in the cutest bull jug. And the mash – oh my goodness, I don’t even know how to describe the taste of it! It was so creamy and I’m not sure what they put in it, but it just tasted amazing.

My Dad chose the 28 day aged Angus sirloin steak, triple cooked chips, roast shallot and mustard butter and watercress for £22.50. He’s not always the easiest person to please, so I was interested to hear what his thoughts were on the meal. All I could get out of him was him constantly saying, “This is the best steak I’ve eaten in a very long time!” So, as far as I’m concerned, that’s a glowing review from Dad! I did pinch one of his chips, and they were so crispy on the outside and then soft and fluffy on the inside – yum! My Mum went for a classic fish finger butty, pickled egg tartare on sour dough for £7.50. We were fully expecting them to bring out a couple of pieces of bread with a couple of little fish fingers in it. But oh no, that’s not how The Bull does a fish finger butty! It came with soft fluffy sour dough and proper fillets of fish cased in batter. My Mum was very impressed!

I wasn’t able to eat all my pie (partly because of my digestive problems and partly because it was so big!) but I managed to save a bit of room to share a pudding with my Mum. We chose Immy’s 3 ways chocolate brownies for £5.50, not really knowing what to expect. Out came this chocolatey goodness, which consisted of a layer of brownie (with lots of rum!), a layer of chocolate mousse and a layer of chocolate ganache. On top was some passion fruit cream. I expected it to be really sickly, but because there were the different layers and it was dark chocolate, it was really nice. My Dad opted for a couple of scoops of Jude’s ice cream – they had an amazing range of flavours to choose from, which is always good. He also had a cup of coffee, which came with the cutest little milk urn! Again, he did nothing but rave about the quality of the coffee, which says a lot, as he’s definitely a coffee snob!

Overall, all three of us were absolutely bowled over by The Bull – the food, drinks and staff were all fantastic, exceeding our expectations ten fold. We spent the rest of the day talking about how brilliant it was, told all our family and friends to go and check them out, and will most definitely be going back again very soon! Big thank you to The Bull team for treating us to such a lovely meal.

Have you had a meal at The Bull? Or have I been able to tempt you into going? I’d also love to hear about other restaurants you would like me to review for you!

*The Bull team kindly gifted me and a guest with a three-course meal, however we paid for the third meal ourselves. All opinions are my own and I would only review places I would genuinely visit and that fit with my blog.

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