Dinner At The Lockkeeper, Chesterfield
Published On Saturday 26 Sep 2015 by Sticky Beak
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Everybody knows the Brewers Fayre brand, so it needs no introduction per se, but as you know dear reader I am a bit of a sticky beak (nosey bird) so when my flock got invited to see the refurbishment at the Lock Keeper, I couldn’t resist. Parking obviously isn’t a problem at these venues, although it was very lively in the car park when we rolled up at 6.30pm
The premises are lovely inside; the new upholstery has really made a difference. The chairs are covered in 2 different colour and pattern plaids; a lovely deep Red and calming neutral Grey. Combined with the muted red, terracotta and cream striped carpet the interior has a nice cosy feel to it. I love the natural exposed brickwork too and the faux panelling on the walls, they further enhanced the welcoming feel.
As is the standard in customer care at Brewers Fayre we were met by a greeter who checked our booking, showed us to our table and told us who our server would be. I have to say, all through the evening every single member of staff was exceptionally polite, not just to us, but to all the tables. I had a little wander around and everywhere was spotlessly clean, despite it being very busy.
For his starter the Man had the Southern Chicken Goujons with BBQ and Ranch dips which he said were nice and tender with a great crispy batter on them. The portion size was good and the BBQ dip had a nice zing to it. The Chick and I had the Sweet Chilli King Prawns and again they were a good size portion of juicy prawns wrapped in a light crispy batter. For those of you who have been to a Brewers Fayre venue, you can probably visualise the exact dishes we mean, they are good old favourites on the menu.
I had the full rack of BBQ Ribs for my main, with chips, Coleslaw and Salad garnish. The ribs were very meaty I have to say and smothered in a lovely sweet, tangy sauce, and the chips were piping hot and not at all greasy. His Nibs had the Mixed Grill (4oz steak, Smithfield pork sausage, ½ grilled chicken breast, gammon, fried egg) and chips. It was a proper plate full of grub and all the meat was tender with hardly any fat on the steak, the accompanying sauce had a level of heat to it that would be appealing to the majority of diners and again it was a great every day dish.
Surprisingly, the Chick had a vegetarian dish for her main course; Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne with side salad and chips or Garlic bread (she had chips and we ordered sides of Garlic bread with cheese and onion rings). She loved the thick crust of melted Mozzarella and Cheddar, and said the whole dish tasted lovely and that there was plenty of it. All our main courses were piping hot, great filling portions and lovely to eat.
The dessert section of the menu has had a few changes since I last ate in a Brewers Fayre and there seems to be a better choice. I had the Lemon Mallow Pie and it had a lovely zingy lemon layer that was complimented by a perfect amount of Mallow topping on a pastry base. It looked very much like a lemon meringue pie (which I unfortunately can’t eat, despite loving it) so I took great joy in pretending that it was lemon meringue, and I thoroughly enjoyed every beakful.
Our chick, like most youngsters, absolutely loves Oreo cookies so she chose the Oreo Cookie pie which consisted of a sweet Oreo base topped with a gooey toffee layer and crowned with mini Oreos on top and a huge squirt of cream on the side. It was a case of “blink-and-you-miss-it”, as it got devoured in record time. The flock’s other chocoholic didn’t disappoint and ordered the Cadbury chocolate indulgence sundae, that to use the phrase of a well-known advert “ does what it says(on the tin)”; it was chocolatey and very indulgent - and apparently totally yummy!.
We had a fantastic family evening, which is what Brewers Fayre do really well. You know pretty much what you are in for when you walk into one of their venues, and the beautiful refurbishment of the Lock Keeper has just enhanced its appeal further. Well done guys, we had a superb time with you.
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