The Carpenter's Arms

gridders

Carpenters Arms 16th April 2008

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I was disappointed. Nice waitresses but zero attention to detail, having ordered a very nice bottle of bubbles we had to request an ice cooler. Food was ok but not fantastic. One the plus side there is a well heated garden for all you smokers, but I wouldnt rush back, over priced and over-rated.

ceedoubleu at 16/04/08

Given its location, it should be trying really hard and it doesn't sound as if this is the case. It's on my list to visit, but I'm not in any great hurry to do so.

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sue

Didn't quite live up to the hype 2nd March 2008

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When a couple of well known restaurant critics started raving about a new gastropub located within my "Sunday lunch zone" called The Carpenter's Arms, I felt it was my duty to check it out for myself. Phoning about 9 days in advance, I managed to secure a table for two for Sunday lunch.

The Carpenter's Arms is located on a quiet residential street, and doesn't look much from the outside. Inside is nicer, though it was a lot smaller than I was expecting, based on the reviews I had read. I liked the interior though, especially the 20's style light fittings and gorgeous vase of tulips on the bar. The young staff were friendly, though a little frazzled, and seemed to be suffering from butterfingers with at least three things being dropped while we were there - the noise of this, coupled with the screech of the burglar alarm made sure the customers didn't drift off while waiting, in some cases, quite a long while for their meals. Oh well, it was Sunday lunch, so what's the rush, right.

Must confess that we weren't blown away by the menu, it all sounded ok, but nothing really took our fancy on this occasion. We skipped starters and went straight for mains, opting for the Monk fish with seasonal greens, parsnips & bisque sauce, and the Rabbit & vegetable pie with purple sprouting broccoli. The pie turned out to be delicious, though the presentation made it difficult to eat. The monk fish was also nice, though over seasoned - all the individual ingredients were covered in pepper which overpowered the dish a bit.

Feeling that we hadn't sampled enough of what the Carpenter's had to offer, I suggested we shared the Bitter chocolate tart for dessert. This turned out to be a very good idea. The tart was excellent, and the crunchy Cracknel on top (toffeed-nuts) helped to cut through the bitterness of the chocolate.

jennipenni at 05/03/08

Purple sprouting broccoli? hehe. Lovely review Sue!

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