I’d read a few reviews on line about the Griffin Inn, Swithland Leicestershire, marketed as an innovative gastro pub owned by cricketer Stuart Broad and decided to try it on a sunny Saturday afternoon for lunch.
The restaurant was sunny and bright, with a roaring fire in the centre, the clientele upwardly mobile, the service excellent and the drinks mixed and presented to London standards. We ordered a selection of plates from the menu and shared everything from delicious watercress and pear salad, onion bhajis, homemade soup, beetroot hummus and crispy pitta breads. The food was delicious fresh, enough but we were still tempted by puddings, homemade baked cheesecake and sticky toffee pudding, as good as any chef could deliver.
It was good enough when deciding on a spot for a business lunch that would normally take place in London I decided to invite my clients to the country. Except on Tuesdays and Wednesdays the menu changes, so does the clientele with a special deal to encourage OAPs out for the day the thriving smart restaurant transforms into a grand day out for the over sixties.
Whoops. Saturday chef’s was having a well deserved rest and was replaced by the assistant selling a cheaper set menu.
There are not that many really great places around Leicestershire for Sunday lunch. Not discouraged I returned on a Sunday in the hope the weekend chef was back in the kitchen in their whites.
This experience was a mixture of the first and the second. It was a set menu, £32 for two courses, £38 for three. The vegetarian options were limited, one choice, a spiced squash wellington, the tasty salads and sides replaced with heavier traditional plates.
The drinks were the same, mixed well and delivered with aplomb. The Sunday lunch was mass market mediocre, the roast potatoes warmed through, the veg over boiled with no glaze or seasoning, the yorkshire puddings were OK, cooked through but not straight out of the oven, the gravy was gravy granules made with hot water and no stirring.
To be fair we had asked for a veggie option so the meat version may have been better but the discussion over lunch was how easy it is to make a flavourful veg gravy from the roast tin.
We ordered the same puddings for the two course option which did finish the meal and was way better than the very average main.
To sum up, if you enjoy a great hearty meat and two veg Sunday lunch made on a mass scale for a big restaurant it’s a great option. The wine list is decent and the bar tenders and offering as good as anywhere else.
If you want a weekday grand day out on a budget, Tuesday and Wednesday are the days to go.
If you are looking for a more sophisticated à la carte menu with healthier, greener options then Friday and Saturday are the days to go.
The most expensive red wine on the list was a Chateauneuf de Pape at £60. The average cost per person £50 for two courses.