Dalton Square, Lancaster
As I’m based in Manchester, I
don’t often get the opportunity to write about places further afield. Last
weekend, I took a trip to Lancaster to visit a friend who’s at university
there. Lancaster has such a beautiful town centre, boasting quaint cottages alongside
all your high street needs and a fine selection of restaurants, bars and cafes.
Not to mention that it has a fascinating history, with an array of tourist
attractions.
Naturally, the most important
part of any day out is the long lunch in the middle of it. We certainly ticked
that box when visited The Borough, a quaint public house in the middle of an
equally charming town centre. It’s situated just off Dalton Square, one of the
town centre’s quieter spots, away from the hustle and bustle of the shopping
district and the market stalls, which were heaving on this particular Saturday
thanks to the early summer heat wave.
It’s a restaurant, pub and
hotel all in one, spread over three floors of a Georgian town house, so there’s
an instant atmosphere where you step inside the place. In 2016, it was crowned
the Best Pub in Lancaster.
As you walk through the pub
into the main restaurant area, it has a slight grandeur to it. It’s far removed
from a backstreet boozer. With its dark wood panelling, plush leather seating
and pendant lamp shades, it has the ambience of a country pub. The walls are
adorned with the suave and sophisticated Sanderson wallpaper, adding to the
traditionalism.
The main menu offers a huge
array of dishes, including sandwiches, pub classics and fillet steaks. It’s
tweaked on a daily basis to include specials and accommodate the local produce
that is in season. I’d be quite happy to spend an evening there and go all-out
with three courses, as the menu was a joy to read.
As it was lunchtime in the middle
of a hot day, we weren’t looking for a feast. We selected from the clever
‘School Dinners’ section; lighter bites specifically designed for lunchtime. I
had a roasted vegetable and hummus sandwich on garlic and herb focaccia bread,
served with a basket of chips. There were peppers, onions and courgettes, all
beautifully juicy and tasty, and the generous dollop of hummus on the bread
complemented the flavours perfectly. I wouldn’t have thought hummus on a
sandwich would work, but it does. Some might say it’s a case of carb overload,
but if it tastes good, who cares? However, hummus is quite stodgy, so it was a
little dry in places. The chips were proper pub chips and had plenty of
substance to them: crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy within and a lovely
golden colour. If you don’t fancy chips, you can swap it for coleslaw, but in
my opinion that’s not a substitute.
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| Roasted Vegetable and Hummus Sandwich |
Meanwhile, my friend enjoyed
her first ever club sandwich. The humble triple stacker is one of lunchtime’s
finest sandwiches. As I eat sarnies far too often during the working week, I
avoid them wherever possible when I’m eating out, but a club sandwich is
something special. Her reasoning was that she’d never fancied the idea of
eating chicken and bacon together. Thankfully, her opinion changed. It looked
more impressive than mine on the plate, and there was plenty of filling in it.
Although I question why there were only three triangle segments? Surely there
should have been four, otherwise it’s not the whole sandwich? I can’t help but
feel we were duped.
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| The Borough Club Sandwich |
On a previous visit, my friend
fondly remembered seeing a towering stack of onion rings across the room. As
they seemed to have left such a lasting impression, I was adamant we had to
give them a try, so we shared some as a side. When they were delivered and
placed in front of us, I immediately sensed her disappointment. ‘Well that’s
not a tower’, she pointed out as we looked at the basket of large, crispy
beer-battered rings. They were nice enough, but we could have done without
them.
Our sandwiches were reasonably
priced, at £7 each. I like the idea of the ‘School Dinners’ section. Offering
specific lunchtime dishes widens the appeal of a pub or restaurant, as you’re
not forced into spending a fortune for an over-facing meal in the middle of the
day.
I cast my eye over the dessert
menu and would have loved to have sampled the cheesecake of the day: Nutella
with banoffee brittle and honeycomb ice cream. However, our plan for the
afternoon involved a visit to local ice cream farm, so listening to my head
rather than my heart, I declined.
The Borough was a sophisticated, vintage pub which made for a
relaxing lunch in the middle of a busy day. The food was of good quality; while
they may not have been the best sandwiches I’ve ever had, they were perfectly
pleasant. The service could have been slightly more attentive. Although, to be
honest, we were sat there for so long, the waiting staff probably decided
they’d just leave us to it.
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