The Marlborough

This pub gets more interesting the further you step in the door. From the outside, the Marlborough looks like a typical pub. Once you step in and beyond the bar, it keeps going and going until you get to a gorgeous garden in the back. The food is fantastic and all the usual beer suspects are on tap.

I’d seen several reviews for this pub and had thought it would be worth trying, so popped in today at lunchtime. To start with I was slightly disappointed; it doesn’t have a very attractive frontage, but the reality of the surroundings inside were rather less than I had anticipated after seeing images on the Marlborough’s website. However, we sat down to explore the menu… only to get up and walk out. Can’t vouch for the quality of the food, but I’m afraid the prices rather put us off. Bangers and Mash or a Burger for just over £10 is, I think, pretty pricey for pub grub. We went round the corner and had Sirloin Steak for less.

Fantastic place! I was out walking around trying to find a place to eat and stumbled upon this gem. I walked in and was extremely happy with my choice. The ambiance is very nice; there are long single candles on every table, an assortment of different couches, chairs and tables throughout, old wooden floors, and just a feeling of comfort.
I walked up to the bar to order a Perroni and some food. Since I’m a newbie over here, I asked what the waitress recommended. She suggested I have the sausage and mash. Took her advice and then added a cornish goat cheese and fig salad. After about 15 mins, my food arrived and I dove on into the salad first. There was a fairly nice slice of baked cornish goat cheese on top of a thin piece of bread. There were 2 figs cut into halves as well as pine nuts in the salad. After devouring that, I moved on to the sausage and mash. There was a heap of mashed potatoes with 3 sausages on top and then caramelized onions on top of the sausage. It was then topped off with a red onion gravy. I ate almost all of it but a few bites of mash. Half way into my meal, I switched from beer to a 2006 Alta Vista Premium Malbec (Argentina) wine. This was the first South American wine I’ve really enjoyed. It was a great pairing.
After I stuffed my face, I was so incredibly full. I could have taken a nap right there in my chair, but thought I’d give a bad impression of us Americans. I highly recommend coming here for the food, ambiance, and the extremely polite staff. I’m definitely coming here again but won’t order a salad as well.