We returned to the Anchor Inn at Oldbury on Severn. This time there was a group of seven of us. Our previous visit was on a Sunday, when the pub was not busy. On this occasion, a Thursday evening, there were no tables free in the bar let alone one with seven seats.
Many years ago, in the bar at the Anchor Inn in Oldbury on Severn, the owner and licensee, Mike Dowdeswell, was talking to a freight company owning customer who was wondering how he could improve efficiency of his business by gaining return loads for his heavy goods vehicles that were routinely delivering local goods to Yorkshire. Mike offered the solution by suggesting that if he picked up some good Yorkshire Ale on the return trip, he would sell it in the Anchor. That's how it came about that the Anchor Inn always used to sell cask Theakston's Old Peculier.
I asked the barman if they had any Old Peculier. Yes, he told me, but only in bottles. What a pity, but I believe the Robin Hoods Retreat in Gloucester Road sells the cask Old Peculier. I must check it out soon.
We took our drinks through to the dining room, in which only two other tables were in use.
I opted for the beef steak, butcombe and mushroom pie, with roast potatoes and fresh vegetables. I thought it a strange combination to put roast potatoes with a steak pie, but roast potatoes can be delightful, golden and crispy on the outside with a fluffy and soft interior. These had a tough leathery outside and the vegetables consisted mainly of julienne strips of carrot and green beans. The pie itself had been covered in gravy, so the pastry was not crisp and the beef itself was not very good quality.
Everyone else seemed happy with their meals, but for a steak and ale pie fan, I could not recommend this.
I have had some exceptional steak and ale pies at:
The Lamb Inn, Lower Weare,
Red Cow Inn, Pontsticill,
Pebbles, Ladram Bay.
