Sunday Lunch at the Old Ship Inn in Lowdham

The Old Ship Inn in Lowdham is located on the Main Street running through the middle of the village.

According to their website this pub “Situated in the heart of lowdham, the Old Ship has been the local pub dating back to the first known landlord in 1788” much older than I thought.

As well as food and beer, the Inn is still an Inn and you can stay here too, something that is good to know for future trips and possible pub crawls around the village.

We were in the area looking for a Sunday Lunch so took our chances to check them out and see what was on offer

I had never been in before and was really surprised how big it was, we hadn’t booked so the options were to eat in the bar or the lounge both of which were spacious enough and had plenty of room.

The restuarant just off the lounge looked nice but to be honest I was happier eating in the bar where there were some really big long tables and it was quieter.

SUNDAY ROAST MENU

The Old Ship Inn does have a large set menu that you can choose from everyday but the Sunday Lunch menu was presented more simply on a chalk board on the bar.

Options were Turkey, Pork, Chicken Breast, Beef and a Nut Roast all offered at various prices. We were both ordering the Roast Beef for £14.95 and then sharing a portion of Cauliflower Cheese for an additional £3.75.

ROAST BEEF, YORKSHIRE PUDDING AND POTATOES

The dinner comes out in two parts as seems to often be the style these days. First you get your main plate with three(ish) slices of Roast Beef stacked on top of a pile of mash potato, three roasties, and a slice of stuffing. On top of that is your Yorkshire Pudding and the whole lot is swimming around in a large pool of rich looking gravy.

The second plate of mixed vegetables to share comes out next, a bowl of random treats including mange tout, green beans, carrots, courgette, broccoli florets and some cabbage. There may have been other stuff I missed out but that was what I remembered.

CAULIFLOWER CHEESE SIDE EXTRA

We also chose an extra side of Cauliflower Cheese and I was pleased to find that it was a decent sized bowlful. Plenty of cauliflower and plenty of cheese sauce both as a topping and also inside the bowl. Not sure what the black flecks were, I was guessing it was charring from the grill, it didn’t affect the taste so I comment only in question rather than as a critique. 😀

FULLY LOADED UP PLATEFUL

Once I had rearranged the plate and loaded it up with a big spoonful of cauliflower cheese and my favoured vegetables it was time to tuck in

Ok so first off the beef, it was plentiful and tasty enough, but I prefer it cut a bit thinner and a bit pinker. I know that is not to everyones tastes so I guess they cook it to please the average punter. Having said that to be fair I have never asked if they could give me some pink slices anywhere so maybe that is my omission

For once I enjoyed my mash potato, it was soft and lumpfree and went well mixed with the gravy. The roast potatoes were small but well crisped and cooked, The Yorkshire pudding was decent, perhaps a little flat but better than most of my efforts so I am not complaining

The slice of stuffing was really tasty, packed out with flavour, personally I don’t think stuffing should be served with Roast Beef but this slice was so nice that I glossed over that thought as I enjoyed gobbling it up

The Cauliflower cheese was nice and cheesey (as you would hope) made with a strong enough cheese to hold its own flavour wise on the plate, plenty of sauce and well cooked cauliflower that was perfectly firm to the bite neither too solid or mushy

I enjoyed all my vegetables, all well cooked, and also plentiful. I didn’t eat as many as my dining companion but that was just me being unhealthy as I like to concentrate on the meat and the spuds.

Finally the gravy which was thick and rich and also plenty enough for me, we did ask for some more but I reckon that we could have just about managed with what we started with.

All in all a decent and substantial feed for the money, I very much enjoyed what I was served and while yes I like my beef a bit pinker and thinner as I said up top that is just my personal preference and this was as good as many Sunday Lunches I have had down one of the local pubs over the years.