Was the food as good as the view?
WAKING up on the sofa on Sunday morning, having fallen into an unwakeable slumber after a few too many shandies at the Durham Miners’ Gala, I knew I had to make amends with Mrs Eats.
I hatched my plan; a seaside stroll on the beautiful Tynemouth coast followed by some Sunday scran.
My hopes were that the sea air would help clear my head and some nice roast meat would calm my stomach, which currently felt like I’d slept on a dinghy riding the waves on a stormy night.
I had chosen to go to The Gibraltar Rock and, although I’d not been there in years, I remembered the spectacular views from its spot next to the castle and looking out to sea.
Sadly my shorter-term memory failed me. After firing up the Eatsmobile and driving into Tynemouth, I realised I’d made a mistake; the town was heaving — I forgotten about the
The Gibraltar Rock
Character........................... Quality................................ Service................................ Value................................... Mouth of the Tyne Festival.
Some artist or other I’d never heard of – but who was clearly very good at drawing crowds – was playing in the priory a stone’s throw from the Gibraltar Rock and, consequently, the pub was packed.
We managed to squeeze in and nabbed a table upstairs, close to huge windows showcasing the stunning scenery.
My positive first impressions were tempered when the waiter came and, explaining what bitters they had, abruptly stopped after listing just the one.
I opted for a coke and driving duties, while I encouraged Mrs Eats to opt for a bottle rather than a glass of Pinot Grigio. At £12.95 a bottle, it seemed
l i k e 2 East Street, Tynemouth, NE30 4EB Phone: 0191 258 5655 Serves roast dinners all week, opening hours on Sunday are 12pm to 11:30pm. Rating: 14/20
Car park..................... Kids allowed..................... decent value.
Perusing the menu, my ever-expanding stomach began to rumble, but my eyes turned out to be bigger than my belly, and that’s saying something.
The restaurant’s main draw is its carvery, but before we got to that, Mrs Eats and I found ourselves intrigued by the starters.
Mrs Eats opted for the broccoli and Stilton soup of the day (£4.20) and I was left with a tricky choice. Belly pork served with black pudding (£4.90) sounded delicious, but the offer of Potted Crab (£5) sourced from the Fish Quay just down the road also sounded appealing, given our seaside surroundings.
Instead of being forced to make a choice, I greedily ordered both, first getting Mrs Eats’s agreement she would help me. When starters arrived, it was clear I would need her to. A huge lump of beautifully tender belly pork – bigger than some main courses I’ve eaten – was served with a big disc of black pudding, a shard of crispy crackling and some salad.
The potted crab was also generously-sized, the rich meat hidden under a thick crust and accompanied by salad, bread and butter.
Both tasted fantastic, and shewho-must-be-fed liked her flavoursome soup which, she was pleased to see, was served with a “proper stottie”.
After a breather to try and digest the mountain of food I’d just eaten, we plodded downstairs to join the queue for the carvery.
The lamps, under which the meat (gammon, port and beef) were resting, did an effective job of keeping everything hot (including the plates, which were hotter than the sun), unlike some carveries I have visited in my time.
One downside of this, was that the veg was wilting. The droopy broccoli, for instance, had been scorched of its green colour and was bland to taste.
The meat, however, was good. We both opted for beef and after being carved sizeable slices and given a homemade Yorkshire pud, we tentatively topped up our scorching plates (being carried on trays, thankfully) with an okay-selection of potatoes and veg.
It’s not often the pair of us have no room for desserts but that was the case on this occasion, despite a fridge full of tempting delights.
As Sunday lunches go, it was decent. Not as delicious as some recent roasts I’ve had, but at £8.95 on Sunday, and £6 during the week, it’s a good value carvery, but the belly-busting starters stole the show.