One for the Sunday index
VERYONE should have a few good Sunday lunch pubs up their sleeve. An index they can call on for family occasions or sudden attacks of ‘can’t be bothered cooking.’
Around Kirklees there is no shortage of traditional Yorkshire pubs but its hard to tell whether, behind the ale pumps and horse brasses, there is a kitchen that will serve you up a really enjoyable Sunday roast.
The Rose and Crown in Cleckheaton is one you can add to your index. File it under ‘huge portions’ and cross-reference it with ‘good value’ and ‘swimming in proper gravy.’
I booked in at the Westgate pub for a late Sunday lunch (4.30pm) with my family.
We had missed the midday rush but there was still a lively atmosphere inside the dimly lit labyrinth of wood panelled drinking hovels sprawling from the central bar.
Work your way through this drinker’s maze and the place opens up into a smoker’s courtyard.
Across the courtyard is a rustic sports bar with high stools and big screens.
This used to be where the owner’s popular micro-brewery was housed but it’s since moved elsewhere and staff told me they rarely have it on any more.
The Rose and Crown’s regular menu covers most of the pub grub classics, from fish and chips and sausage and mash to Whitby scampi and Homemade lasagna.
The selection of starters hits the same notes - prawn cocktail to Spam fritters and everything in between. Obviously, on a Sunday, you can add to this a roast with all the trimmings and your choice of meat.
My chicken liver pate starter was tasty, although I had to go to the bar to ask for the chutney it was supposed to come with.
For mains I went for a pork Sunday lunch while my dad went for lamb. They came - as reference above - swimming in thick, warm gravy.
The covering meant it wasn’t immediately obvious what the rest of the plate was made up of. Green beans, carrots and cabbage were relatively dry to the side of the dish and a fluffy Yorkshire pudding stood proud in the centre.
The meat, roast potatoes and mash surfaced around the Yorkshire pudding and then disappeared under the gravy like a rocky shoreline.
As I worked my way through the huge plate of food it soon became apparent that the majority of the submerged land was made up of pork.
This was a particularly pleasing surprise given that, even without the gravy bath, they were tender cuts of meat and a Sunday lunch at The Rose and Crown costs just £9.
The show stealer was undeniably my sister’s choice though. Chilli con carne with potato wedges inside a giant Yorkshire pudding.
When the waitress put it down we gasped and the table groaned - it was humongous.
The Yorkshire pudding filled a casserole dish and chunky wedges stood on end around the edges - seemingly so that more chilli could be piled safely inside without risk of spilling.
I’ve used the same technique myself to get five tonnes of rubble into a four tonne skip, but when the rubble is chilli and you’re supposed to eat the skip it looks far more intimidating.
Luckily my sister is a connoisseur of massive plate-fulls of beige or brown food with chips so she gave it a good effort.
Her only criticism after managing around two thirds was that it was a little dry - thankfully there was some gravy going spare.
All in all the food was enjoyable without being spectacular and the portion sizes were spectacular without always being totally enjoyable.
The price makes it a cracking choice for Sunday lunch though.
The bill came to £67.60. That included four starters (priced at a very reasonable £5 each), two Sunday lunches, two other main courses, two pints, a glass of wine and a coke.
Four sleepy people waddled out of The Rose and Crown on a Sunday afternoon having eaten more good food than they should - for less than £70.
Get it in your index.