EDDY’S LAST
HANGING a giant portrait of Alfred Hitchcock in your dining area is certainly one way to give it a bit of character.
In one of our more stimulating Sunday lunch conversations, Mrs E and I agreed to disagree with regards to the film director’s merits as he gazed down on us at the Earl of Pitt Street in Newcastle – but we were certainly in agreement over what a great job had been done on the interior of the pub, which is colourful yet tasteful.
We remembered being impressed when we last visited the place a few years back, and were keen to see if it was maintaining its high standards – not to mention justifying prices that are rather high on the Eats scale, with the meat roasts coming in at between £11.50 and £13.50.
So would we get a thriller of a meal or be stung for a shocker? I’m pleased to say it was the former pretty much all the way.
There was more than a touch of exoticism about the starter menu, which included “pork san choy bau” spiced pork mince with lettuce cups (£6.50) and tempura king prawn Asian salad with sweet chilli jam (£10).
I, however, had my eye caught by the salt and pepper squid with garlic mayonnaise (£6.50), while Mrs E plumped for the beef skewers with Mongolian dressing and black bean aioli (£6.50). They arrived pretty quickly, along with the sauces for our roasts, oddly enough, which were placed slightly to our side. We ended up pretty much forgetting about them until we’d finished our main courses. Mrs Eats was pleased with her choice. She
found the beef “gorgeous”, although slightly chewy, and commented on the “beautiful” salad with its “lovely” salad dressing.
My squid was plentiful – perhaps 20 battered pieces – and came with a heavenly mayo, a side salad and some slices of red chilli. It all gelled together well – even if the chilli did bring a bit of a tear to my eye.
We didn’t wait long for our mains – or for a bit of disappointment on the part of Mrs Eats. Not for the first time, she wanted stuffing, but there was none on her plate. It turned out it is available as a side dish for £2.50, although we didn’t like the idea of ordering it separately.
The dish that initially didn’t seem enough for Mrs E was roast belly pork (£12.50), while I went for feather blade of beef (£13.50).
Also on our plates were baby carrots, broccoli, mashed swede, sugar snap peas, spring greens, mashed and roast potatoes and the giant Yorkshire puddings.
All the veg was fine, with the carrots a flavoursome highlight, but Mrs E remarked that the cauli was too hard.
I found my Yorkshire a bit overdone, though Mrs Eats thought hers was fine. Where we did agree was that the texture of the mash was just right. As for the meat, what a treat I got. Feather blade is a cut that comes from the shoulder. It must have been 3cm thick, but was tender enough to fall away from itself and feel like it was melting in your mouth. Mrs E had less praise for the main event, finding her pork to be a bit fatty and dry in places.
It has to be said that you don’t exactly get an overwhelming amount of veg or potatoes at the Earl – but the good thing about that is, of course, it means dessert is a cert.
I had a white chocolate and Baileys cheesecake with summer berry compote and Mrs Eats went for the lemon posset with raspberry coulis, fresh raspberry and lemon biscotti (both £6). My pud really was a chunky-sized one indeed, and a cut above the average cheesecake, with the Baileys giving it a welcome twist.
The posset delighted Mrs E. Beautifully presented, it was light and had a real citrus tang.
Service was fine during our meal, although it took us a while to get anyone’s attention once we were ready to pay.
There had also been some uncertainty on our arrival as to where we should be seated, despite the fact that we’d booked our table a good few weeks previously, with two members of staff discussing what to do with us at some length without a look in our direction.
However, we were served a good amount of good-quality food, and I’m sure we’d be happy to doff our caps at the Earl again.