Merseyside pubs ignored by national eating guide
MERSEYSIDE may pride itself on the improved quality of its pub grub.
But it appears to still have a long way to go before being included in the food and drink industry’s bible for eating “down the local”.
The 2009 edition of Michelin’s Eating Out in Pubs guide is published today, and although it features a handful of pubs in and around Chester, plus the Eagle and Child, in Bispham Green, West Lancashire, not one of the 563 pubs listed is from Liverpool, Wirral or the surrounding areas.
But the Guide’s editor Derek Bulmer explained that it should come as no surprise, as there are no pubs listed from other urban conurbations such as Manchester, Leeds or Birmingham either.
“Apart from London, whose pubs make up 10 per cent of the guide, the so called gastro pub revolution is not essentially a city phenomenon,” said Mr Bulmer, whose team of inspectors voted The Punch Bowl Inn, in the Lake District village of Crosthwaite, as the Michelin Pub of the year for 2009.
“This may be explained that over the past 15 years rural pubs have been forced to diversify and look to other ways to bring in custom due to such things as the tightening up of the drink driving laws. This meant either taking the food route, or bedrooms, or both. Many city centre pubs have not had any real reason to do this because the custom is on their doorstep.”
The only local pub listed in this year’s guide which could remotely be considered as urban based is the Old Harkers Arms, in Chester.
“What we do is essentially traditional British pub grub cooked very well,” said its assistant manager, Ben Redwood, of the menu created by the pub’s head chef Jeremy Holbrook.
As an example, he said that one of the favourites with customers is fish, chips and mushy peas at £10.95.
“But we wouldn't call that ‘posh’ fish and chips, which suggests it’s three hand chopped chips shaped cut into rectangles sitting next to a small, perfectly formed fish. What we do is very good but unpretentious.”
Paul Hogan is the head chef at the Eagle and Child at Bispham Green.
His menu is split into two: a basic bar menu featuring dishes such as steak and ale pie made from local produce and an a la carte specials board often consisting of freshly shot game such as partridge and venison. His personal favourite is sea bass.
He said: “We do try to concentrate on more traditional British fayre which matches the style of the pub itself, drawing a balance between the simple and elaborate using fresh, locally sourced products. People have cottoned on that a lot of food comes out of a packet but our food is of restaurant quality and the punters really can tell the difference.”
Fiona Watkin, landlady at Thomas Rigby’s, in Dale Street, whose chef Tommy Rockliffe has won a number of national awards, said she could understand the urban versus rural argument.
“But,” she added, “I still can’t understand why there are no Liverpool listings. Surely, places such as the Everyman Bistro, the Monro, Ma Boyle’s or, dare I say it, even us merit a mention!”