A Sunday Carvery At The Ball House In Boston, Lincolnshire
Published On Tuesday 15 Nov 2022 by Sticky Beak
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The Man and I went to visit Bestie Bird and her hubster, The Bolton Wanderer, for the weekend recently and (no surprise here, folks!) food was high on our list of things to do. The journey out of the ‘Shire and into the Fens can be a bit of a donkey - especially on Fridays – but luckily we managed to get to their nest in time to have a cuppa, answer Nature’s call and have a quick catch-up before heading out to our first venue of the weekend.
Although certain aspects of the meal were delicious at this venue, the oil was rancid and there were literally two drops of Balsamic in the ‘Oil and Balsamic’ on my Antipasti selection. There wasn’t a great deal of thought in the presentation of mine and Besties sharing Fish platter either and honestly, given that the pricing was on the higher end of the scale, more attention should have been given to it. A lot of batter and frying was in evidence in this dish as well, when there is so much more you can do with Fish and Seafood, but thankfully His Nibs and TBW’s meals were nice enough. I think this is a classic case of ‘resting on one’s laurels’ and I wouldn’t recommend the venue to you, in all conscience; regrettable, because the puds were super. Luckily for them we’re a ‘positive only’ blog so they won’t be getting named and shamed by us!
Bestie and TBW have got a new addition to the family (a red, four legged Canine beauty), so we all headed out on Saturday morning for a good old romp that saw us rest for a pint or two at the halfway point. Whilst poochy availed herself of all the intriguing smells along the trail, we bi-peds had a good old yap and put the world to rights...carrying on once we’d got back to base camp, so to speak.
That evening we decided to have a film night, so the local curry house’s (Bombay Brasserie) menu was pored over and a veritable feast ordered that would, quite frankly, have fed an army... plus the five of us that it was actually feeding! Blooming tasty it was too, from the Poppadoms and Naans, through to the rice and variety of curries, so I’d definitely recommend this place if ever you’re in Boston, folks. There are a small number of tables to eat-in at Bombay Brasserie, just in case you want to go out rather than order in and stay at home.
However, it is iconic, British, Sunday roasts that get our juices flowing the most and last time we visited, Bestie and TBW had mentioned a new place that had opened, but they forgot to book a table, and we missed out. No such rookie mistake this time, and so we (finally!) found ourselves at The Ball House on Wainfleet Road in Fishtoft, Boston to sample their carvery style Sunday Roast. This venue is a stone’s throw from the place where I did my Nurse Training and you can in fact see Pilgrim Hospital, not the prettiest building in the world I’ll admit, from The Ball House.
There’s a good sized car park and Bestie snagged a spot close to the entrance, so we only had a short walk through the outdoor seating area to do before we stepped over the [dog-friendly] threshold. We were greeted warmly and taken to our table, walking past the laden carvery counter as we did so; that really got our nostrils twitching, as I’m sure you can imagine! Normally I’d have a glass of vino with my roast but it had been a fairly hefty (*read, extremely drunken*) 48hours, so Bestie and I opted for a sparkling water instead, and His Nibs had a pint of Moretti.
Husband and wife team, Andy and Marie Robinson, (a former Paramedic and ex- Royal Navy Engineer turned Secondary School Teacher respectively) are no-nonsense people and their carvery pricing structure reflects this: £6.50 for kids, £10.50 for regular and £12.50 for large. You get a choice of Beef, Turkey or Gammon all of which Andy gets up dead early for (to cook them slowly), and they come with Yorkshires, Stuffing, Mashed and Roasted Potatoes - you can’t visit Lincolnshire and not eat ‘Tates!! - and a selection of fresh, seasonal vegetables. Proper meat-juice gravy is in a massive cauldron at the end, along with other sauces such as Horseradish, Cranberry and Mint.
I made it up to the carvery first and bagged myself what Andy and I consider to be the tastiest bit of the meat joint: that beautifully nubbly end bit that is slightly more well-done and has that hint of caramelised flavour to it. Yum yum!! Both His Nibs and I went for the Gammon and Beef, whilst Bestie had Turkey Breast with her Gammon. Chef Andy certainly doesn’t skimp on the thickness of the slices, or the number of them he puts on your plate, so take your appetite. All the meats were juicy and tender with a great depth of flavour to them that had us licking our lips in happiness as we savoured each mouthful.
When we visited, the veg choice was Carrots, Green Beans, Baby Brussels Sprouts and Cauliflower and they were all cooked absolutely spot-on; no soggy specimens or Carrots that were too ‘Carroty’ – yes BB actually did say that! The roasties were blooming fab; nice and large with that tantalising shade of pale gold outers that were lovely and crisp without entering break-your-teeth territory (!) and pillowy soft, lightly nutty tasting inners. I do love a good Roastie and these had me sighing happily. His Nibs and BB both commented that the mash was super-smooth and well seasoned (I didn’t have mash as I’d gone for three roasties), although I think The Man would’ve liked a more pronounced butteriness to the flavour.
The Ball House team manage their carvery very well and invite tables up to the counter at intervals so that there isn’t any unnecessary queuing; they also do two sittings for the Carvery: Noon-2pm and 2-4pm, with a small interlude between the two times. This is to keep the meats at the peak of freshness – new joints are brought out for each time slot – and allow the team to offer the high level of service that we experienced. Whilst the servers are certainly young, they are very smart and polite, and nothing was too much trouble for them. It was lovely to see a team that worked so smoothly together and, from a customer perspective, it was great to be on the receiving end of slick service.
Whilst we’d managed to have a chat with Andy as he was serving us at the Carvery counter, we managed to have a more in-depth natter with Marie at our table and boy-oh-boy did these guys work their socks off to get open in time! Marie’s day job stood her in good stead as she co-ordinated all the various elements needed to get The Ball House doors open - with a functioning, stocked bar – on the day and time that they’d advertised. The wider community has also benefitted from their presence as, not only do they hold events, they also provide a free Christmas meal to those who are isolated (for whatever reason) because they feel passionately that no-one should be alone over the Festive period. Other local businesses have also helped in this endeavour and given vegetables etc. that would otherwise be wasted for Marie and Andy to cook with. I’ve said before that one of the best things I love about food blogging is hearing the stories behind the set-ups and seeing people’s passions and dreams in the flesh, but I got a proper warm fuzzy feeling in my tummy hearing Marie speak!
All that remained for us to do was ask for a take-out roast for TBW who hadn’t quite managed to make it to The Ball House (we’ll blame the curry, but we all know it was the boozies really!). Including this ‘care package’, our total bill was just under £57, excluding tip for the team – can’t complain about that, given the quantity and quality of the food and drink.
Needless to say, Hot Wings are happily awarded to this fab Boston team; the Sunday Roast was so good that His Nibs and I have already said to BB and TBW that we’d love to come for another meal here when we’re next over – I want to try the Steak Pie!!
For more details on The Ball House opening times and food service times visit the website www.theballhouseboston.co.uk. You can get in touch with them at contact@theballhouseboston.co.uk or by phoning 01295 364478. Given that the dining area is fairly compact (maybe 50 or so covers) I would certainly advise you to reserve your table to guarantee a spot.
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