The Ship Inn, Ugborough, PL21 0NG

Location: The Ship Inn, Ugborough, PL21 0NG.

http://www.shipinnugborough.com/

Time of visit: 31^st August 2013

Food eaten (meat choice): 

Chicken Liver Parfait with onion and cranberry compote:           £5.95

10oz sirloin steak:                                                             £17.50

Chocolate and praline Brownie with ice cream:                        £5.95

Food eaten (vegetarian choice) 

Breaded Cornish Brie with mixed berry compote                        £5.95

Goats cheese and red onion tart                                           £7.95

Elderflower crème brûlée                                                      £5.95

Quick review:

Gastro-pub wannabe with pretty good food being served up and plenty of potential, but a poor vegetarian selection on offer lets it down and the quality of some dishes needs work.

Ratings

Hog                             7.5/10

Hedge                         6/10
Overall rating          6.75/10

The Hog

Like many fellow foodies, when pay day looms, it’s always nice to venture out in search of new places to please the palette. The Friday just gone was no exception. So, with a spring in our step, and healthy looking bank accounts, we headed out for some ‘nummy nosh’.

We’d heard good things about the Ship Inn, Ugborough, so wanted to sample their delights for ourselves. After a last minute decision to go, we called up to reserve a table in mild panic and were pleasantly surprised to be so easily accommodated on a Friday Night, and in such a friendly manner.

Now I’m just a regular chap; I don’t have endless funds to spend on lavishly devouring culinary treats, so it was quite rare for me to plump for three courses.

I don’t know if, like me, you sometimes panic when presented with such a large menu? It can be a little off-putting when it’s so big it should probably have its own blurb and index, so I opted for an old favourite; homemade chicken liver parfait.  Please let me explain, it’s not the regular menu I’m referring too,  which is easily digested; it’s the ‘specials board’, containing a list of dishes in such great quantity that the board itself looked strained under the weight of chalk alone embedded in its surface. Should it be bigger than the actual menu?

Anyway, I digress. After a 20 minute wait on what was a busy Friday night, and a complimentary round of bread and butter, our first course arrived:

The pate was delicate and light, with a selection of small crisp pieces of toast. Oddly, not mentioned on the menu was the toast, and also the onion and cranberry compote, had both been laden with raisins? Also those looking for cranberry in the compote may have wanted to whip out a forensic kit to check for its presence.  I personally was ok with this and found it enjoyable, however; had it been presented to ‘my hedge’,  I’d imagine she would’ve sent it back.

The parfait was well seasoned and the compote provided an excellent flavour friend to bond with liberally over the toast. But if you like a chicken liver parfait, nothing here would make it stand head and shoulders over any other you've had.

After a further 25 minutes or so, our mains finally arrived as we were teetering on the brink of frustration (forgiven as it was busy though); and wow what a meal! Did I order a platter? I’m no stranger to a large meal or two, but this was something else. I ordered the 10oz sirloin steak which arrived on a bed of mushrooms, topped with grilled tomatoes and two onion rings.

I thought that was it, until the waitress emerged again with a platter of cooked seasonal vegetables, a bucket of chips and a side salad. I thought this was a little odd, as just one of these choices would’ve sufficed as a side order, but none the less I battled on.

The steak was cooked to the medium rare I’d requested. It had a large fatty rind which I personally am fine with, but know this will put some people off. The steak too was a little gristly here and there which was disappointing. Oh,  and the steak knife…….I might as well have been trying to cut it with my index finger. I’ve never been presented with such a blunt instrument. In the end I resorted to my regular knife which ironically cut through it like butter.

Additionally, and this is key for all you restaurateurs; volume doesn’t mean quality. While the seasonal veg side was perfectly serviceable, the lack of basic seasoning was a trick missed. The chips were cooked well and tasty, and the salad sported a standard French dressing which was, well, ok. All in all, I’ve had quite a bit better.

So onto desert. After the wait between starter and main, it was somewhat annoying to have to wait a further 30 minutes for two cold deserts. It was a shame as it almost tainted the finale. I found my choice on the specials board; a praline chocolate brownie. Unsurprisingly a generous portion presented itself nestled into a fast melting scoop of ice-cream. The presentation wasn’t great, but my word, the flavour won me over quickly. A moist sweet treat graced my lips; light punchy chocolate with a delicate nutty overture and thankfully not too rich. It was a great way to finish the evening.

So what are the scores on the board? A solid starter and desert, let down a little by the main. The place was pleasant with a good atmosphere, but the chairs we had left us with sore extremities (not in their photos). A reasonable 7.5 out of 10 from the hog.

7.5/10

The Hedge

The most frustrating thing about walking into any eating establishment, as a vegetarian, is sitting down, looking at the menu and not seeing one single vegetarian dish. Unfortunately this was my experience at The Ship.

First visual impressions were very good, it's an old country pub , buzzing with people, the smell of good food and chinking glasses. The restaurant has clearly been refurbished. The modernisation is lovely with sage green walls, old beams, exposed stone, and tables spaced so you still have a good amount of privacy with your eating companion(s). We dressed up as it's nice to do on a Friday night and certainly didn't feel like we were out of place.

We sat down, the menu was laden with meat and fish. 'My hog' quickly chose from the good carnivore starter selection and I settled on the one clearly vegetarian dish available, a cheese dish. However, not a single vegetarian dish for a main course. Luckily the specials board was extensive, showing maybe 15 dishes and just as I was about to give up, I spotted one meatless dish, toward the bottom of the board, so that was my selection, yet another cheese dish.

I wasn't too disheartened, the dishes I had chosen promised some of my favourite ingredients  and as a pescatarian officially (who occasionally eats chicken), I could have had a fish dish, (not a single chicken main course either though) however, I prefer to eat veggie and from that perspective it was like playing vegetarian roulette. The last thing you want to feel, when venturing out to a new eatery is awkward and burdening and in this day and age, 1 vegetarian dish is simply not acceptable.

So, to the starter, I picked the Breaded Cornish Brie with Berry compote. It was beautifully presented and delivered exactly what was expected. It was a generous portion. There were 5 pieces of breaded brie, beautifully gooey in the middle with a scrummy, flavourful, mixed red berry compote and seasonal pea shoots on the top. It wasn't innately unique, as the saying goes, it did 'exactly what it said on the tin'. If you like breaded brie, I’m sure you'll thoroughly enjoy this dish, as I did. 

The main course was a Goats cheese tart. What I was presented with was unexpected. A beautiful composition of poppy seeded puff pastry layered with goats cheese, caramelised red onions and asparagus, topped with a seasonal salad and drizzled with a balsamic reduction. 

The combination was very tasty and cooked to perfection. A pleasant surprise after what I thought would be an afterthought of a dish and a worthy price at £7.95. The star of the show for me and absolutely faultless.

My finale was an elderflower crème brûlée with cinnamon biscuit, which was probably the most disappointing course of the meal. It was, once again, presented well, if not a tad on the large side. Although it was beautifully creamy with a crunchy caramel top, it wasn't quite as set as it should be, with no real taste of elderflower. The coned biscuit on the top showed skill but the cinnamon flavour was missing. It was pleasant and I happily scoffed the lot but it didn't really deliver what was promised.   

So overall, there were moments that impressed, the atmosphere was comfortable and the staff were friendly, some maybe a little cliché, serving us rather than really wanting to interact. Being asked if i wanted my coffee with dessert or after, a simple gesture that is so often forgotten was appreciated and the waitress kindly explaining that the dessert had nuts in and making sure neither of us had any allergies was an essential but impressive attention to detail.

To sum up, I would happily give this meal a 7.5/10, however, I cannot, overlook the lack of catering for vegetarians. Overall, I would happily eat at The Ship again but maybe next time call ahead to find out what suitable dishes are on the menu for the herbivores among us.

6/10