Trying Out The Carvery At The Village Inn, Marehay
Published On Friday 11 Aug 2023 by Sticky Beak
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Whilst The Man and I had had an absolute blast on our NC500 holiday (with bits added on!), we really missed our Sunday lunches with Mummy Bird – and Fledge when she rocks up. Mummy Bird had clearly missed this too, so asked His Nibs to sort out somewhere for us to all enjoy a roast dinner. Originally, we thought that we’d be gardening or doing other jobs at Mummy Birds’ – in which case we like to crack on and eat later in the day – but the awful weather had other plans, so we opted for somewhere that serves strictly over lunch-time. It’s been ages since we last visited The Village Inn at Marehay, and that was for Pizza, but we really enjoyed it, so we thought we’d try their Sunday Carvery.
There’s plenty of parking just the opposite side of the road, so finding a space wasn’t a problem, and we headed over the road and through the double doors of The Village Inn. To the right is the beautiful pizza oven, tucked away in the far corner, and I couldn’t help but smile as I remembered the scrummy pizza I’d had there – if you haven’t had one here, you really need to try it. Anyhow, I digress; to the left is the large bar and further round is the main bulk of the dining area, which is where our table was – already buzzing with families and groups of diners.
Nothing makes me happier than when a venue has a clear structure to its carvery, and you’re not going to find one better than at The Village Inn. We’d arrived about 10 minutes ahead of our official reservation slot and, even though the table was clear and we’d been seated, there were other tables that were seated and waiting for carvery, so our server politely said that we’d have a little wait – fine by us, we were in no rush at all. The lovely young lady also informed us that the signal for our group to go up to the carvery counter would be when a jug of extra gravy was placed in front of us.
Our table gave us a clear view over to the counter where two members of the team had got a brilliantly efficient system going between them whereby one was carving and serving the meat as requested by customers, and then his companion was popping stuffing ball and/or homemade Yorkshire Pud onto the laden plate (the carvery comes with this as standard). We could also see that, whilst it wasn’t the most bountiful carvery we’ve seen, there was a reason for it: at very regular intervals, each dish was taken out and replenished with fresh vegetables. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather have smaller bowls of produce that get regularly replaced with hot items, than larger bowls where the vegetables languish miserably to a lukewarm temperature; wouldn’t you?
The Village Inn gives you the option of having a three-course lunch if you so desire but, tempted as we were by the range of 5 starter dishes (priced £4.95-£6), we decided to go for the main event, priced at £11.95 per person, or you could have all four meats for an extra £2 – which both His Nibs and I did! Mummy Bird was initially going to have the Turkey Breast, but changed her mind at the last minute and plumped for the Gammon Ham instead. The Man and I had got Roast Derbyshire Beef, Turkey Breast, Pork Loin and Gammon Ham to look froward to, along with the selection of vegetables.
True to our server’s word, a jug of gravy was brought out shortly after our dining time and we were invited up to the Carvery Counter. Having done no work (and therefore not being rewarded with one of my Mummy’s stonking fry-ups), His Nibs and me were both chewing our knuckles with hunger and scampered up to the counter with, frankly, indecent haste! Getting up close to the meat counter, I could see that there was very little fat on any of the meats; just a smidge at the edge of the Beef and Gammon.
I should just mention at this point, that The Village Inn team at Marehay also offer a Mediterranean Vegetable Tart (£10) and a Creamy Mushroom and Leek Pancake with Mozzarella (also £10) for those who don’t eat meat; both of these are cooked-to-order, so you might have a little wait – but it’s worth it for freshness, right?
With practiced skill, the young gent was slicing effortlessly through the variety of meats and popped generous slices of each on our plates, then his colleague asked if we wanted stuffing and Yorkie, putting on our requirements. As he handed us our plates back, he took the time to cover their edge with a napkin, saying to take care as the crockery was hot. With our plates looking fairly laden, we turned our attention to the veggies: bowls filled with Mash, Roasties, Carrot-and-Swede mash, Carrot batons, Cabbage, Broccoli and Cauliflower Cheese all vied for our attention, and who were we to ignore any of them?!!
I’m sure you’ve all done it at home: done a Jacket Spud and then scooped out the middle? Well, that’s what the mash at The Village Inn is like; a smidge textural, but magnificently creamy. Fans of crispy Roast Potatoes will rejoice here; there was an audible crunch as I bit into mine – if you like them a little less crunchy, there were softer roast spuds too. Both the Cabbage medley and the Broccoli Florets were cooked perfectly to retain their crunch, as was the Cauliflower that was bathed in a wonderful cheese sauce. As one of my favourite vegetables, it isn’t often that the humble Carrot gets out-shone, but when it’s partnered with Swede and mashed, the partnership beats the solo version (though both were yummy!).
All of the meats were excellent: so tender, tasty and moist that all of us smiled happily as we munched away. I decided to play nicely and gave Mummy Bird a bit of the Turkey that she had thought about choosing, to go with her flavoursome Gammon Ham; well, I had missed her! Whilst we’d been eating, our server came to check that we were happy and was pleased to take a trio of clean plates back to the kitchen.
Our former hunger (and sense of sadness at having missed a cooked breakfast) did at least serve some purpose; it allowed us to save that magic bit of space in our tummies that’s reserved for dessert. As with the starters, there’s a choice of 5 desserts, priced between £4.75 - £5.25. Given my newly discovered love affair with Meringue, I opted for the Meringue, Berries and Cream concoction, His Nibs had his beloved Sticky Toffee Pudding (with custard, though you can also choose Ice cream or Cream), and Mummy fancied the Chocolate Fudge Cake with Ice Cream.
Just like the Carvery, the sweet treats were generous in size – the kitchen team at The Village Inn, Marehay, don’t muck about, that’s for sure! My Eton Mess confection was served in a Bailey’s Latte glass; it’s sweet-cone shape certainly set the colours off beautifully, and the tart berries pinged against the sweetness of the crushed Meringue very nicely. There was no doubting that Mummy was enjoying the rich indulgence of her Chocolate Fudge Cake: the evidence was around her mouth! Mind you, given how sumptuous and moreish it was, I couldn’t fault her enthusiasm. The Man Bird was in high-glee with his wonderfully satisfying Sticky Toffee Pudding, it’s beautifully rich flavour roiling around his mouth as it melted there.
Yup, this had been a rather marvellous family meal and, looking around the busy restaurant (even though we’d booked at the tail-end of service, and we weren’t the last ones in), we weren’t the only ones enjoying ourselves. We mentioned the pizzas to Mummy Bird (available every day, other than Sunday) and she wants to come back to try those tasty minxes for herself, too, so no doubt we’ll be back at The Village Inn before long!
Hot Wings happily awarded here; the food was super (quality, quantity and price!), the service spot-on, and the venue very clean. For those who need to know: The Village Inn is family friendly and does allow Guide Dogs inside, but no ‘pet’ dogs. The Village Inn is closed on Monday and Tuesday, opens 5-11pm Wednesday-Saturday, and Noon-11pm on Sunday. To book your table ring 01773 743970, and visit the website www.villageinnmarehay.co.uk for all the menu details (including gluten-free options).
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