Great Scotts
Scotts Arms Sicklinghall
Simon Jenkins
Regional Press Beer Writer
of the Year
THIS rural dining pub has long been a favourite of the Taverner column.
For a start it's a lovely place to drive to – out north from the city, before diving off the main road and onto narrow village roads which eventually lead to pretty Sicklinghall, with its well-tended gardens, village pond, and warm stone cottages.
At the heart of the village sits the Scott's Arms, which basically looks as if it has been there since time immemorial, though the building was actually originally three cottages. It feels old inside, with its big stone fireplace, low doorways, brick and stone.
The pub retains much of what you would expect from a village inn. It has a good crowd of local regulars, as well as playing host to the local cricket club. It serves a good choice of real ales, and – as the only pub in the village – clearly takes seriously its function as a centre for the Sicklinghall community. In July the pub is hosting a fun day to raise money for the local school.
But few such pubs can survive solely on the patronage of those who share the same post code. And the Scotts Arms has always been somewhere to drive to – you only have to go up there on an evening to see a car park chocker with gleaming steel to know that.
I parked the Fiat somewhere inconspicuous and wandered down to the entrance from where you emerge at the end of a long L-shaped bar which links two of the drinking areas.
The main room beside the bar is warm and lively – at least partly because the bar here doubles as the food ordering point. Doorways either side leads off into two more intimate spaces – one of which is aimed at the smokers, the other more squarely aimed at families.
The picturesque beer garden, with its well-kept floral displays and views over farmland and fields, is a big draw, too – though the play equipment much enjoyed by my children here in years gone by is long gone now.
Real ale lovers are certainly well catered for, with Theakston's Best, Theakston's Old Peculier and Timothy Taylor Landlord on offer as the regular choices. I went for something different and enjoyed a pint of the current guest ale, the golden, summery, light and refreshing Regatta ale (2.27) from the Adnam's brewery in Southwold, Suffolk.
The menu at the Scotts Arms straddles the boundary between the mass-produced, 'pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap' philosophy of some pub chains, and the top cheffery of the true gastropub. So there is the chain's company-wide Chef and Brewer menu, augmented by blackboards offering a good choice of home-made alternatives.
The trouble is, it soon sells out. And during our Sunday evening visit, the waitresses made at least two visits to the blackboard to rub out selections which had gone completely. Worse they even managed to sell out of a few items on the main menu too.
So Mrs Taverner, who had first set her heart on the roast beef, only to have her hopes dashed by a "sold out" sign, then found that her second choice – a peppered sirloin steak – was also unavailable. She did have some words of praise for the lamb cutlets (9.95) that she ended up with, but I was acutely aware this was only her third choice.
After much debate involving interesting healthy eating choices like the sea bass (11.75) and the vegetable pesto penne (6.95), I reverted to type and went for a generous portion of beef and Theakston's pie (6.85) which came with mashed potatoes and lots of nicely crunchy fresh vegetables.
Desserts include a hot chocolate pudding (4.25) and a luxury ice cream (2.65), but we chose to share a cheeseboard (3.65) which was long on cheese, but rather short on biscuits. Ordinarily we might have asked for more, but this would have necessitated another call on the time of the busy staff.
By this time I'd already gained the impression that they were perhaps one waitress short of what they really needed – our requested extra fork took an age to arrive, our plates weren't cleared away until the cheeseboard arrived, and the coffees simply never materialised, despite two trips to the bar. They stuck them on the bill, mind.
Manager Steve Davies was apologetic – and organised an immediate refund. He and girlfriend Joanne Lindsay have been in Sicklinghall for a year now, during which time they have boosted the food trade with special events like last Wednesday's curry night – which provided an escape from the Liverpool-Milan final for footie-phobes – as well as a fixed price menu which offers two courses for 8 or three courses for a tenner, Monday to Friday.
Factfile
The Scotts Arms
l Hosts: Steve Davies and Joanne Lindsay
l Type: Village drinking and dining pub
l Opening Hours: 11am-11pm Mon-Sat; noon-10.30pm Sun
l Beers: Theakston's Best (1.99), Theakston's Old Peculier (2.37), Timothy Taylor Landlord (2.27), regular changing guest beer, Foster's lager (2.23), Kronenbourg (2.45), Strongbow (2.33), Guinness (2.43)
l Wine: Decent wine list available by the glass or bottle, from 2.40 for a small glass
l Food: Good selection served from opening until 9.30pm. Occasional themed food events
l Children: Welcomed. Smaller portions of the main meals available
l Disabled: Relatively easy access
l Entertainment: Quiz Mon
l Beer Garden: Good-sized picturesque area
l Parking: Large car park to the side
l Telephone: 01937 582100
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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