Nothing like a bit of punting on a Sunday afternoon to get everyone in the mood for a proper Sunday Roast in the pub. With Suvi's friend Elisa visiting from Stockholm, we decided to give her a taste of (edgy) tradition at The Mill, just steps away from the punt hire.
Having a larger group required some creative thinking - and super nice people moving tables - to find a spot in this small pub, but we managed to hunker down in the end and get eating.
So here's the rundown of thoughts from everyone. If you're interested, this isn't easy to do when eating with group of epidemiologists and public health researchers - apparently I need more objective measures. Well volunteered Felix for composing the next Galloping Ghrelin ratings questionnaire!
The Sunday Roasters: Felix, Katrin, Andrew
These looked incredible! True mountains of food, and each came with honey glazed carrots, yorkshire puddings, duck fat roasted potatoes, cauliflower cheese, cabbage, broccoli and probably more that I'm forgetting. The variation? Roast type and sauce. Katrin went for lamb with obligatory mint sauce (freshly made by the seems of it), whilst Andrew and Felix went for pork loin with apple sauce.
Sunday Roast: Lamb/Mint Edition
Sunday Roast: Pork Loin/Apple Edition
All managed to agree that portion size was fantastic and that the veg and yorkshire puddings were well-flavoured (plus the gravy was top notch!). The one gripe was that as we were at the tail end of sunday roast time, the potatoes were quite overcooked. Maybe an earlier meal would avoid the same fate?
The Saladiers: Suvi, Me
I'd seen some fabulous looking salads here before and had to give it a go, whilst Suvi wanted a lighter meal. My mackerel, watercress, squash, orange and chilli salad hit the spot. This was beautifully dressed in a light vinaigrette, the mackerel was warm and its oily saltiness went beautifully with the chilli and orange, and finally the (butternut?) squash...perfectly peppered and with a delightful bite.
Warm Mackerel, Watercress, Squash, Orange and and Chilli Salad
Suvi's more classic chicken caesar looked wonderful, but Suvi thought it was over-salted due to dressing/anchovy overload (there were a lot of anchovies if that's your thing!). If however you are up for hedonism rather than a light salad, I'd definitely recommend going for this with my American hat on.
Chicken Caesar Salad....Anchovy-Rich!
Don't forget the side of chips!
The Burgerette: Elisa
And finally, Elisa couldn't resist the big mill steak burger, filled with pulled pork, fried onions, double cheese, and BBQ sauce. Apart from finding the sweetness of her first brioche-style bun a bit strange (apparently these haven't hit Sweden or her native Italy), she enjoyed the lot.
The Big Mill Steak Burger, with Pulled Pork, Double Cheese, Fried Onions, and BBQ Sauce
In the most objective of measures, my final verdict is that this quaint little place is great! Certainly satiated our post-punting hunger in style - just remember to think outside the box when searching for a seat in peak times. And stay for a beer as well.