What is a gastropub? Is it a pub with a restaurant, or a restaurant with a pub. I guess probably the former. This is the modern way, and previously inexpensive simple pub food has been replaced by pretentious expensive less simple food with a waiter and a service charge.
I had previously dined at the Pantechnicon, the sister gastropub of the Thomas Cubbit, and knew more or less what to expect. You can be taken in by the web site on http://www.thethomascubitt.co.uk/home.html?pg=&txt=false My wife had told me that it was going to be expensive. This meal was a Sunday lunch for 7 people. I noted the occupancy, which was high. We went there on a Sunday lunchtime when the Cubitt was serving the bar menu in the Dining room which is upstairs
I ordered the fried squid, prawn and artichoke with a sweet chilli sauce which was excellent, but a fairly small serving.
What sounded plain turned out to be very tasty and fairly hot at a CHOF of 7.9
For main course I had the Sunday roast of Devon Lamb with trimmings. The trimmings were a delight, but the lamb was tough, chewy and inadequately hot for my taste. I estimate the CHOF at about 6.8 which is edible with diminished enjoyment.
Had I not been in very polite company, one of whom had selected the restaurant, I would have sent this back. For desert, I had the Chocolate and cherry roulade, which was big enough for two, of good consistency and delicious.
The wine list is good, but there is nothing under £20/ bottle, and by the glass it is about £8/glass which is expensive even for a big glass.
Our bill which included three bottles of not too expensive wine and a couple of glasses extra, a 12.5% service charge, no bread came to £47/per person. Quite frankly for what was a very basic meal with no cover on the table, no fancy water, and the second cheapest red wine on list, this is uberpricing in my opinion. Given that my roast meat was of poor quality (although no one else complained, and I was told the beef was ok) I felt that this was the worst side of gastropubbing, and cannot understand why they are packed. I know my views are not reflected elsewhere, but I would have thought a bit of roast leg of lamb was idiot proof.
On a slight tangent, I noted that the cost of a cup of coffee after the meal was £3. Given that the cost of goods for a cup of coffee in a bog standard coffee shop is only 9p, the margin is pretty phenomenal. Difficult to understand how they can justify the price, which is somewhat demotivational. It would have to be pretty amazing coffee.
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