Oscar’s Bar and Resturant is located inside The Beeches Hotel on Wilford Lane in West Bridgford. I have had a long standing relationship with this hotel as it was part of my childhood as I grew up living just over the road. Back then it was called Monroe’s Hotel, owned and run by the Monroe family. I can remember it being much smaller and that when each house came up for sale alongside they were purchased and the hotel expanded little by little. I don’t really remember when it became the Beeches Hotel, but I do remember many a friends and family meal that we have had in the Restaurant and in the Bar over the last 10 years.

The food has always been good, sometimes a little bit pricey, but it was always a good meal.

On their website it said “Attentive, friendly staff, excellent food and an inviting and informal atmosphere combine to make Oscar’s Restaurant a truly enjoyable experience“

Well that was kind of how I remembered it and as I hadn’t been in for a couple of years I was keen to come back and just try something, perhaps just a pint and something simple off their bar menu.

There was plenty to choose from on the menu and also on the daily specials board where a ‘Curry of the day’, ‘Chefs choice of the day’ and a ‘Pie of the day’ were on offer. I just wanted something light though so I was looking for bar food.

 Gammon, Egg and Chips

 

I had the Gammon, Egg and Chips which was to be fair a decent sized plateful. The piece of Gammon steak was big, large enough to fill half of the square plate. It was well cooked with a nice char and it was salty just as I like. The fries were those really thin skinny ones, so not my favourite style (I like chunky chips) but there wasn’t anything wrong with them. They had managed to cook the frozen peas properly which based on what I have seen at many a place is actually quite a feat. The fried egg was alright as well, I would have liked the yolk to have been a bit runnier but I am kind of searching for fault now.

It is a good plate of food, it is basically just bar food done well and I have no problem at all with that. Even now looking back at the picture I am thinking that I could come back over the road and eat this again. That has to be a good thing does it not?

 

My companion had the Basic Burger, which I thought looked pretty good. I liked the look of the seeded bun and the lettuce was that nice crispy leaf type that I usually buy in a bag from the supermarket when I am trying to make my steak healthy. I thought that it looked really nice and since this meal I have talked with a few work colleagues who have stayed at the hotel and they said that the burger was really good.

He wasn’t as keen but then again that might have been because the whole thing came on one of those stupid wooden boards that everyone seems to serve the food on now. This one made the burger look quite small, please someone start a campaign for plates 🙂  There was also a bowl of coleslaw that stayed in the bowl all the way from the kitchen and back to the kitchen, and a bowl of thin fries which he likes a lot, so on this occasion my companion won the chip raffle.

Overall I was happy with my return to Oscars and with the quality of my bar food. I still felt that it was all a couple of quid overpriced, but then again this is a hotel so I suppose that they have a captive audience and perhaps can get away with that price point. In the end I don’t mind really my Gammon and Eggs were worth it even without a slice of tinned pineapple. To be honest if there was a slice of pineapple I would have been writing in for a discount (just kidding folks).

I keep on seeing the chalkboard at the weekend outside on which is scribbled ‘Fancy a Sunday Roast’, quite often I do so maybe I will come back and try one.

The Beeches Hotel is on Wilford Lane in West Bridgford on the corner with Bruce Drive. It is opposite the Railway Club just past Rivermead Flats. Regular buses stop here from the city including the 1, 2, 3, and 4 heading out to South Notts. Edit: If you ride the Tram from the City out to Clifton South, you can get off at the Wilford lane stop and it is a 15 minute walk along Wilford Lane if you head east.