Pig and Butcher

The Pig and Butcher on Liverpool road prides itself on their "food that Granny used to make". When you walk in, it's farmhouse like, it's rustic. Bare bulb, wooden tables, apple crates, ale jugs and the lot - the kind of decor that we see so much in town these days (even Upper Crust the sandwich chain was trying to get a piece of that which made me slightly anrgy, but anyway).

In my opinion it is not the decor but the food that deserves the mentioning.

They have a single side food menu with no more than 20 items on offer and that included puddings. I am a great lover for simple menu, in my mind, the fewer the items the more love and care is put into each one of them. Their menu also changes everyday which I find very exciting. My friend and I were in a rush to get to Sadler's Wells so we just had the mains - hers was a beef stew with dumplings, and I opted for rare beef potatoe salade with a portion of kale on the side (bit weird, I know).

My salade was incredible. Rare beef was actually rare beef - and for those who have had the countless experience of ordering rare beef and 15 minutes late come face to face with something completely different need not explaining why this was important. The beef was juicy, perfectly on the right side of pink but not dripping with blood. It was a good size potion, just right to statisfy the tummy but secretly hoping for that one more bite. It was complimented nicely by the fluffy potatoes and most importantly the dressing was just acidity enough to cut through the starch without being over powering and it was just the right amount.

My friend's stew was a wintery treat. Steaming hot when it arrived, with perfect meat to veg ratio. I am not in the business of describing meat texture with big foodie words (more because I dont really know how to), but the meat was just soft. Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth kind of soft. You eat food like that and you know how much love and effort was put into it.

Then the chef came out and said it's a new dish and they have never served it before and you secretly think to yourself 2 things, a - now he is showing off, b - how come my Granny never made food like that...

So. What did I think: If you were there to catch a quick bite before a show at Sadler's Wells, I would suggest not to do it, simply because it is a bit of a rush to get to where you need to be.

Pig and Butcher is a place to really enjoy a meal and not just to fill the stomach so it doesn't rumble in the middle of a show. I am going again very soon just to take time to have pudding, coffee and more wine.