I last visited The Griffin about 5 years ago for a family occasion. I remembered it being quite a nice pub with good traditional pub food and a great atmosphere. So we decided to make a return visit and get a hot meal before the last day of the Isle of Wight music festival. The very wet weather meant that we needed to get something hot inside us before braving the rain for hours on end (that’s another story!)
The pub was quite busy when we arrived but there were a couple of free tables. A man who I assumed was the owner or at least the manager showed us to a spare table. My gut instinct was that this wasn’t going to be as nice as I remembered; I was right.
I had noticed a new carvery in the corner which admittedly had a queue of people waiting to load their plates. I am not a fan of carverys as I think they are a good way for pubs to sell low quality food to the unsuspecting paying public!
We had a look at the menu (in a grubby presentation folder!!) which was full of very typical pub grub such as prawn cocktail, bangers & mash, burgers & chips etc plus the carvery option.
I decided on the bangers and mash which was advertised as local island pork sausages. James ordered the chicken baguette and Craig decided to have a roast from the carvery.
Of to the bar I went to place our order and get our drinks. The bill came to £32 for 3 main meals and 3 drinks which I thought was very reasonable indeed. I’m glad it didn’t cost more. For the carvery I was given a ticket with a number on which I was told to take up to the chef when we were ready.
So of Craig went to get his meal and returned with a plate full of roast pork, roast potatoes, vegetables, gravy and Yorkshire pudding. The Yorkshire pudding had without a doubt been bought in and resembled a well known brand that you can buy in any supermarket. The rest of the plate of food was ok, nothing more, nothing less.
James baguette was huge with a nice crust. I didn’t think it had much chicken in comparison to the amount of bread and it could have done with more mayonnaise; however the waiter did offer more to be fair which was declined. He left most of it on his plate in the end.
My sausages were quite nice, 3 of them in total which were nicely flavoured and cooked well (braised rather than fried). The little pot of peas were fine and the onion gravy was nice and rich although I am not convinced it was homemade, another well known brand perhaps? My mashed potato was interesting to say the least. The pile was huge and enough to feed an army. It had a strange glazed looking appearance which was rather odd. I put my fork in to mix it round a bit only to find that the pile was “gluey and full of lumps”. It always fascinates me how any kitchen can get mash so wrong. It’s not exactly difficult.
Looking around the pub I noticed it was all a bit grubby and could do with better table clearing. It was full of people though so they are obviously doing something right. I suspect it’s the low prices that pull in the locals and tourists rather than anything else.
On a nice day there is a huge garden and play area out the back so it would be good for families looking for an inexpensive meal.
We won’t be returning and I wouldn’t recommend it. The staff were nice and friendly but that’s about the only positive thing I can say. A very average place with low standard food.
No web site.
Sharon x
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