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Al fresco lunch - The
Dorset
Sometimes you don’t appreciate something until it’s
too late. As I was leaving the Dorset I clocked the façade
of the building and noticed what a splendid sight it was.
The strange shaped roof, the white wooden cladding, the angry
red tiles, the magnificent tree in the courtyard. A sign told
me the building dated back to 1678, when the pub (then called
The Cats) was founded. So why had I not got a feeling of the
historical setting I was in as I tucked into my food in the
courtyard? I had sat eating facing a brick wall, probably
built in the 1980’s. My companion had had the sight
of the car park. It felt like we were eating outside a Happy
Chef.
In the meantime, the food. Will had tuna steak, I had roast
crab. His was £9.95, mine was £11.95. There was
salad, and some salty new potatoes, which arrived interestingly
late. The crab had been mushed up and put back into its shell,
so my fears of eating the wrong bits were allayed. They had
grated some cheese on the top. It was tasty, in a crabby sort
of way. I didn’t need to use salt or pepper. I had a
bit of the tuna, which was succulent, thick-cut and obviously
fresh. I got food envy watching a guy who’d ordered
mussels, and was piling the shells high on a plate next to
him. Good fare, then. But how much more would I have enjoyed
it if they’d made more of the setting? |
