Back in August I last wrote about The Embankment Club near Trent Bridge when I came in for Castle Rock Beer and Pub Food. At that time it was in mid transformation and they were still renovating the place to add a new bar and additional restaurant space. Now those rooms have opened and we have been back several times to check the place out.
The Dispensary
They have really transformed the place with the opening of the Dispensary Bar at the front of the building. This is a really lovely space to sit and drink beer, I have been in quite a few times with friends and had a great time on each visit. It is a bit like sitting in your own living room having a chat.
Inside the Dispensary, in keeping with the old Boots connection, they have really embraced the theme. Cabinets are filled with old medicine bottles and tins
In the bar it is all about the beer, they have great craft options, lots of local options, some ciders on draught, and of course all the awesome Castle Rock offerings as well.
If you want to eat you have to go through to the other side, which I did because I was hungry!
All Day Breakfast
The All Day Breakfast at the Embankment is one of the better breakfasts that you can find in Nottingham. I would go so far as to say that it is the best breakfast that I have eaten in a pub for quite some time. The key to a really good one is the quality of all the items on the plate. Here at the Embankment everything on their was really well prepared and there were no weak links at all.
They had excellent sausages, well cooked, packed with meaty goodness and nicely herbed. The secret to a good ‘breakfast sausage’ it to go easy on the herbs and the ones that they serve here were just about spot on.
The bacon was nice, smoked as it should be, and well cooked with a nice crispy rind. A single well cooked open mushroom was enough to add a little earthiness to the dish.
Two perfectly fried sunny side up eggs really made my day as they both still had nice runny yolks and a soft firm white. The final piece in the breakfast jigsaw were the baked beans which were not over cooked, not heated up in a microwave and dare I say it not an afterthought to fill up space.
Alongside all of this, but out of shot, are a couple of slices of toast to mop up those beans and that runny yolk with. Pretty much breakfast perfection on a plate. I was very happy with this offering, which went well with my pint of Harvest Pale Ale.
Best of all the cost of this breakfast was just £5.95 and you can order it from 10am to 5pm.
Stone Baked Pizza – Sausage Fest
In the evening just to assist with the consumption of the beer we decided to share one of their Stone Baked Pizzas. The pizza of choice was the ‘Sausage Fest’ for £11.50 described on the menu as ‘Loads of chorizo, salami & local Lincolnshire sausage slices with mozzarella ‘ Yes I did pick it for the chorizo, because I have no mind of my own and have to follow every fad and trend that the food world throws at me, or at least that seems to be why chorizo is everywhere. I actually picked it because I do like chorizo and sausage. I would have liked mushroom too and pepperoni, but I wasn’t making the pizza so I ordered the one with most of the stuff I liked on it.
Anyway was it any good? Well it was not too bad at all. The crust could have been a bit crispier, but it did have a really nice flavour assisted by a little bit of char. The tomato sauce on the base was quite nice, a little sweet and a little spicy, perhaps a little thick. I liked all the meatiness of the toppings, all really good quality meats, with a nice crispy and soft cheese topping. The kicker that made the pizza a little different was the generous sprinkling of peppery rocket all over the top. All in All, It is a decent pizza to find in a pub, perhaps a bit expensive at £11.50.
I like the beer and the food here at the Dispensary and the Embankment. The chalkboard menu always seems to have plenty of interesting things on it and often a good selection for the hungry vegetarian too. One time I was in they were offering ‘Italian Meatballs – Homemade pork meatballs in a roasted tomato and red pepper sauce served on spaghetti with parmesan cheese’ for £7.50. They had a ‘Roasted Butternut, Cinnamon and Cheese Pie cooked in cider and herbs with a puff pastry top’ that came with seasonal veg, mash and gravy for £7.95 which sounded pretty tasty even for a devout meat eater.
Last time I wrote about this place I commented that it could easily become my local as it is so close to my riverside apartments. If only I didn’t have some sort of food blog and mild beer fetish that encourages one to explore so many other places.
The Embankment can be found at 282-284 Arkwright Street just near to the Trent Bridge on the North Side (The City Side) of the river by the Meadows. You can find a map and directions on the Castle Rock Brewery website and also a little more about the history of the place too.
If you want to keep up to date with what beers are on the tap, and what events are taking place then you can also find follow them on their Twitter feed and on their Facebook page too.
