Sunday 28 April 2013

Blueberry Inn, Pontypridd


The Blueberry Inn in Pontypridd has recently undergone a rebranding. Sadly for me I did not find my thrill in the Blueberry Inn. It describes itself as 'a boutique hotel'.

My impression was that it didn't really know what it was meant to be. When you walk in you enter what can only be describeds as an ordinary pub. There is seating off to the left which is where the food is served but there is nowhere to wait to be seated.

I had booked and so made my way to the bar to be told ours was the table by the window! It was at this point that things started to get even more complicated. The menu, which we will come to later, informed you that you order at bar. Off I went just to be told someone would be over to take our order.

To be fair the waitress was quick and very efficient. She took our drinks order and left us to peruse the menu. Before the makeover Mrs T had visited with her friends from work and raved about the menu. Post makeover I can only describe it as pub grub.

Prices are resonable with light bites starting at £3.00 and sandwiches on Ciabatta from £4.50. We decided to go straight for the mains. I thought it would be nice to continue my search for the perfect steak and the sirloin at £13.95 looked good to me. Served with onion rings and a pepper sauce it sounded ideal.


Sirloin Steak

The first positive about this was hand cut fries. Take note others, this is not difficult to achieve. They were cooked well, crispy on the outside and nice and fluffy in the middle.

The steak was chargrilled and cooked really well. Just on the rare side of medium exactly how I asked for it. The building may not know what it's meant to be the chef certainly can cook a piece of beef.

The peppercorn sauce was a little light on pepper for me but that was just person taste. Accompanied by a decent enough side salad I would say it delivered what it said on the menu.

Fellow diners chose to give the sausgage and mash a go. Three pork chipolattas served on a bed of creamy mashed potato and covered in an onion gravy. Not my choice for an eveing out but they said they enjoyed and to be fair it is the type of thing they enjoy.


Sausage and Mssh
 Because we had one of the children with us Mrs Tonfoodie decided she would share a pizza (£8.95) with said small person. For me pizza is pizza however this one was well made and plenty of fresh tomato. Unfortunately the boy is more of a Pizza Hut type and so this was a little refined for his delicate palate.

Deserts were also pretty standard, the creme broulle looked good at a reasonable £4.50. Unfortunately I didn't get to try it as the will they wont they come to the table to take orders let us down and by the time we realised that no one was coming we had decided to give it a miss.

So three mains with drinks £53.00 was a little steep for pub food. However it was well cooked and the portions were of an ok size.

If it is going to be a success I think then the really they need to decide what they want to be and stick to doing one or two things well instead of trying to be a catch all.

If you like simple then by all means give it a go. For me it was lacking and while I wouldn't mind calling in for a light lunch I don't think it is somewhere I would go for that special night out.

2 T's

Contact details:

T.    01443 485 331
F:     01443 406821
E.    
bookings@blueberryinn.co.uk

www.blueberryinn.co.uk

No comments:

Post a Comment