Lunch / ££ / 7/10

Having vowed to revisit some old ‘favourites’, the Northerner and I went to Fothergills for lunch. The sunshine put everyone in a good mood and waves of euphoria hit me as I walked in. The distinctive layout of conjoined small rooms on different levels means you can never really tell how busy Fothergills is. During our lunch people appeared and disappeared into other rooms giving a nice bustle without the full on assault of the senses you sometimes get when a place is full. Named after the famous architect whose buildings appear all over the city the full glass frontage gives great views of The Castle, The Park and the Robin Hood statue. Fairy lights finish the decor which, while not high end makes the place feel really comfortable (if a little old fashioned).

There is a lot of choice at Fothergills as the menu offers everything from 3 courses to sandwiches. This is no criticism given we then proceeded to order a main course and a baguette. I was feeling confident that because moules were on the main menu AND the specials they would be fresh (as they are in season now) while The Northerner craved classic English carbs so went for the pulled ham, cheese and chutney baguette with a side of chips.

The baguette ticked all the boxes – ham with loads of flavour, sweet chutney and rich cheese. The side salad was dressed well and the chips were some of the best we have had. A really solid lunch. I stole more than an acceptable amount of the baguette while The Northerner picked at my fries once his were finished. An equitable exchange.

My moules were good as well, they were a nice size and the cooking liquor was delicious. Soft shallots, a small amount of cream to enrich, the taste of the sea from the juices out the mussels and lots of herbs and peashoots to try and convince you there is some vegetable/salad element to the dish. There isn’t – let’s face it (celebrate it?) Moules Mariniere is shellfish and carbs. I only had 2 grumbles, the mussels themselves were a little firmer than I like, they had either been cooked longer than they should have or were frozen. Finally around 25% of the mussels weren’t edible – unopened or broken shells. I don’t expect a kitchen to go through and remove the ones you can’t eat but they normally overcompensate on portion size to mitigate this.

It was a very enjoyable lunch and I will head back to Fothergills soon to enjoy the darker afternoons and their cosy bar.

FAMILY – Fothergills is a great pub to go to with the family, there is entertainment by way of colouring packs and a kids menu. If you have very young children toddlers/babies though I would avoid given the different levels and lack of space/architectural limitations.