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Wondering at wonderful food at St Pancras

By a happy clash of events, I seem to have done a lot of eating out this week, which is no bad thing. So this is a quick review of the recipes of the week, and the venues that served them up.

First up, Monday lunch was at The Betjeman Arms at St Pancras. Now, this is about as far from the average railway station pub as it’s possible to get: no sticky carpet, no crowd of guys who look like they missed the last train home about five years ago and definitely no curling at the edges sandwiches with a limp lettuce garnish.

Knowing I was facing into a three course dinner, I went for something light, and went with the smoked haddock and spinach gratin. Great tasting fish, properly smoked and not dyed, and a good dose of cheese, but not heavy and greasy. It was served with two slices of toast, decent bread dotted through with caraway seeds. A perfect light lunch or supper dish, this would take so little to knock up, it’s practically fast food.

A quick dash back North, and it was off to Langar Hall for dinner. I had American friends staying there, who were just charmed by it, as I thought they would be. Langar is the perfect example of an eccentric English country house hotel, but with charming service and a fabulous menu. That said, a tough menu for those from LA who don’t perhaps have the same connection to the land and food production. The lamb was off, as they do look very pretty when you drive up the approach to the use. And the game, well, not even coming close to being considered!

No such issue from me, I had roast pheasant and really enjoyed it. Whilst it can often be quite rich, the portion was just right and the accompanying red cabbage was perfect. However, the promised bread sauce, such a traditional accompaniment, failed to materialise. The poached pear for dessert was great, as was the tiny creme brulee and liquorice ice cream. Each flavour was exquisite and clean, it was just a pity they didn’t all work together. But I’ll forgive them that. Langar is a perfect small country hotel getaway, I highly recommend it.

A day of very light eating followed, in preparation for dinner at the Red Lion Inn. From what Olive magazine this month called the dream team comes an incredibly well priced Early Doors menu, with 2 course at £12 and I think the 3 courses is about £16. The pub hot smoked salmon is a great choice even for those who don’t think they like smoked salmon, and the blade of beef always seems really popular with the menfolk, and very on trend.

Of course, for those fabulous friends in from LA, it would only be right to order off menu! Given this was Kim’s first visit to a village pub, we thought it best for her to try something traditional, and she had the joy that is the Red Lion’s fish and chips. I love their fish and chips: perfect batter, homemade tartare sauce and what it says are mushy peas but are more like a crushed pea, which is just fine by me. Kim, on the other hand, is the only person I’ve ever met who doesn’t like peas. Don’t hate her, she’s adorable in every other way.

And I’d hate you to think Mini Gourmet Girl missed out. She is a connoisseur of the Red Lion’s children’s menu, but it’s the one place in the world where she is pretty unadventurous. But when the sausage, mash and onion gravy is that good, is it really problem? She has been known to send the sticky toffee pudding back though, the week they decided to experiment with mint in the recipe for her. Just the once!

So, for me, that’s a huge amount of eating out in one week, and there’s more to come over the weekend. No sign at all of a pop up restaurant, but only some very decent, British, seasonal food. And that’s a recipe for some good eating!