#butcombe

Overhaul: did you wear a mask?

Tengai: yes- but- we found a book of place names, and, Rappa was looking through it and I’m so sorry for what we’ve inflicted upon the Hassaikai.

Overhaul: what did you do…?

Rappa: BUTCOMBE!!

Tengai: that. He- he found a place called-

Rappa: BUTCOMBE!!

The Lord Northbrook is a Fuller’s pub in Lee, not far from Lewisham and Greenwich. It was revamped and relaunched in 2011 as a trendy, family oriented local. They lean a bit towards gastro with their food, slightly crafty with their beers and reflect both of these things in their prices.

Sunday lunch menu

It had been a few months since our last visit so, inspired by a 20% off voucher I got via email, we booked in for a roast. We arrived a few minutes early and the friendly staff showed us to our table, informing me once we got there that their starter of ox cheeks was off and replaced with kedgeree. We’re not usually in for starters so this didn’t bother us at all. The menu had a generous selection to choose from. My wife went for the onglet steak and chips whilst I went for the roast chicken two ways; I was intrigued to find out what the two ways were.

Roast chicken two ways

Roast chicken two ways

It turned out that two ways was 1. Roast chicken leg and thigh and 2. Roasted chicken supreme with garlic and herbs. I was expecting something a little more spectacular like a ballotine. Perhaps I was expecting too much since this is just a pub after all.(but please don’t let this make you think that I didn’t enjoy it as I enjoyed it very much!). Both pieces of chicken were well cooked and the Yorkshire pudding and accompanying vegetables were lovely. My little boy was particularly fond of the carrots. I particularly like the braised red cabbage.

Onglet steak and chips

My wife’s onglet steak came out and looked very nice. Well done but not dry; only a very small bit had pinkness to it so not a lot got passed to my plate. The chips and chimichurri which came with it were absolutely delicious (which my son also enjoyed!)

Sticky toffee pudding

Lemon tart with raspberry sorbet

After a little while we decided to treat ourselves to dessert. I went for one of my favourites, sticky toffee pudding. It was not too dense but packed with flavour. I found the accompanying sauce was a little thin so not quite as good as the one I had at Gillrays. My wife had a lemon tart with raspberry sorbet. She said that it was very sweet but the raspberry sorbet helped balance it. It was suffering from a bit of a soggy pastry case though, which was a shame.

Butcombe Brewing Co Adam Henson’s Rare Breed

During the visit I had a couple of beers. I tried one off the cask from the Butcombe Brewing Company called Adam Henson’s Rare Breed. This beer is “the result of Adam Henson’s dedication to sustainable farming and a passion for characterful, artisanal beer.” Adam Henson is one of my favourite TV personalities and this beer does him proud. A good, solid session beer “with a smooth, citrus twist”. I very much enjoyed it. I followed that up with an old favourite, Sierra Nevada IPA which is a stalwart on the Fullers pub taps. Always dependable and tasty.

This visit to Lord Northbrook was not outstanding. To be honest, I wouldn’t expect that from a pub. The food was very good, the drinks were cold, wet and satisfying. The service was good, if a little slow at times but it was a Sunday afternoon so they were quite busy therefore to be expected.

All gone!

As long as we’re living in the area we’ll keep going back because The Lord Northbrook hits all the right sort of notes for us. My only criticism would be that the drinks prices are a little on the high side. Our son had a small carton of Cawston Press apple and pear juice which set us back £2, and £6 for a pint of Sierra Nevada would be expected in a central London venue but this is a Zone 3 pub. We got a good deal this time with 2 courses each plus drinks for £49 but at a full price of £62.25 we could’ve gone somewhere much more upmarket and eaten and drank the same amount.

Butcombe

Original