I love pub grub. A perfect Friday evening for me is spent eating good honest British classics in a little cosy pub with a glass of Prosecco. There's loads of great pubs around my mum's area which are perfect for just that so for a recent family dinner, we visited the Artichoke on the Green in the village of Croxley Green, just outside Watford.
It's a lovely little pub which has been recently renovated to combine all the beautiful original features of the pub along with some more modern touches, giving it a real country pub feel.
The menu offers up a good selection of dishes championing British classics using high quality produce and ingredients. For starters I went with the bubble and squeak with poached egg, bacon and hollandaise (£7). I love bubble, it reminds me of Boxing Day or the day after a big family roast dinner when my mum uses up all the left-over veg and potatoes. Not quite as good as my mum's but as good as any i've had in a restaurant before...
For my main, I went for the sea bass (£14.75) which came with a hollandaise sauce, vine tomatoes and steamed asparagus. The fish was delicate and full of flavour and the accompaniments were well cooked but I was left wondering where the substanance was! Maybe I'm a greedy piglet but it was lacking a carb element for me, especially for nearly £15. Some jersey royals would've been perfect - had I not had a starter I would've left feeling hungry....
If you're ever near the area, I recommend dropping into the Artichoke - especially when it's sunny and you can sit out the front overlooking the green! read more