Guest Post: The Travellers Rest on Mapperley Plains

My better half and I decided to have a snack at the Travellers Rest on Mapperley Plains. The pub is situated in a picturesque rural setting with ample parking, and outside seating at both the front and rear, and is a couple of minutes drive from Mapperley Top. The pub itself is well presented with a traditional beams and whitewash interior decorative style.

According to The Travellers Rests own website back in the late 19th century the building was a halfway house for goose-herders on their way to the Goose Fair in Nottingham.

Despite it being lunchtime on a Saturday the pub was almost empty perhaps due to its location at the edge of the city and we had no trouble finding a seat. There were two menus to choose from, Spring and Summer and Seasonal Specials. As I was only looking for a quick snack I decided to have Fish and Chips (described as ‘A hearty portion of hand-battered cod served with chips, mushy peas, tartar sauce and a wedge of lemon’), from the Daytime deals section of the Sprint and Summer menu rather than take a punt on something more adventurous.

The service both at the bar and from the serving staff was both professional and polite with our food arriving ten minutes or so after being ordered. I thought the fish and chips was a good solid effort, the chips were fresh and crisp, being more what I’d expect from a good Chip shop rather than a pub catering for many different types of meals. The fish however was a bit disappointing being smaller than I’d hoped for and consisting of a larger proportion of batter than I was expecting, but maybe that was just the luck of the draw. Although it is worth pointing out that my better half remarked at this point (as if on que), that she thought that her jacket potato was a little on the small side, so perhaps portion sizes were being squeezed?

Being able to resist anything but temptation I decided to have the Chocolate Fudge Cake and Double Cream (which turned out to be the star of the show), for an extra two pounds and was pleasantly surprised by both the quality and quantity of the pudding. The chocolate cake was covered by a generous helping of chocolate sauce, with melted toffee both within the fudge cake itself and on the side of the plate as a drizzle.

Despite the slightly disappointing fish I’d be happy to return to the Travellers Rest at a later date and tryout something more interesting from the specials board.

Since I’ve started accompanying Marcus on his food and beer hunts I’ve developed an increasing dislike of the Weatherspoons and Greggs of this world, preferring good quality ‘home’ cooked food instead, and maybe, just maybe, the Chef and Brewer Pub Co chain of pubs, of which The Travellers Rest and The Hutt which I reviewed previously (extra Kudos points for all you readers who noticed I had the same meal at both pubs) are a part can help bring good quality food to the wider audiance.

P.S. The next time I do a review (if I’m allowed to do one), I promise NOT to have the fish and chips.

P.P.S. Or a beef burger.