The Grange Tavern - When only a carvery will do (Structured)

Posted by Conor O'Neill on Tuesday, March 7, 2006

Two Saturdays ago, the parents, the kids and I headed off to Clon to go to the playground and then check out Deasy’s in Ring. We have had several recommendations for Deasy’s and I thought a good pub lunch would go down nicely and suit the sprogs too. It was deserted on our arrival and my mother eventually found someone who told her they only do evening meals and Sunday lunch. Bum. But she said the menu looked fab. The nice man then pointed us towards Grange and The Grange Tavern a few miles up the back road.

On arrival I realised it was just up from the place where we watched the cool harness racing last summer. It looked good from the outside and in we trooped. I made the usual mistake of going into the bar first. The Deliverance music started in my head as a small group of serious drinkers eyeballed me. I turned around and went into the lounge.

Initial impressions were not good. It was a dark room with pretty crappy furniture and a small carvery food warming unit in the corner. But we checked out the blackboard and it seemed like a good pub selection. We all plumped for the roast pork. A pity that the kids menu was standard burgers/sausages/fish finger fare but hell, my kids like that stuff and they get proper food 95% of the time so I won’t begrudge them a few chips.

All of the staff were really friendly and I was very impressed when they offered to hold on to my food until I had finished feeding Fionn. A simple touch but it showed the right attitude to service.

The plates arrived out piled high with pork, mashies, carrots, apple sauce, gravy and stuffing. And blow me if it wasn’t just a great pub dinner. Better than that, it was one of the best pub meals I have had in years. Juicy pork, tangy apple sauce, hand cut carrots. Really really wholesome family food. I nearly licked the plate.

We all had rice pudding for dessert, which again was clearly handmade as it was a wee bit undercooked but still tasty. A round of coffees and cappuccinos finished it off perfectly. Meanwhile, the pub had gone from empty to full in 30 minutes and the whole ambiance changed for the better. The lads loved it cos they could run around and know they were annoying no-one and the adults could all relax.

This pub will never win a food award and it will never be a gastro-pub, it just does simple tasty traditional pub food with a surprising attention to detail. If you are down that direction and you feel like a nice pint and some solid fare, you can’t go wrong.


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