£2 menu is no con
3:59pm Thursday 5th January 2012 in Eating Out
£2 menu is no con
EAT AT: Ellington’s,
25 Bridge Street,
Swindon SN1 1BP.
Tel 01793 421559. www.thenumberworkspubs.co.uk/ellingtons
Open Sunday to Wednesday 10am to 11pm, Thursday to Saturday 10am to 2am.
It almost sounds too good to be true, but BARRIE HUDSON found nothing but exceptional value for money at a new town centre bar
IT’S difficult to remember when pub meals were last commonly available for a couple of quid, but the year probably began with the numbers ‘198’.
That’s why Ellington’s, part of the small Number Works group, raised a few eyebrows when it unveiled the menu at the bright and airy former Glasshouse in Swindon’s town centre.
Main courses are grouped according to price. For £8 you can choose from dishes such as sizzling duck, a 14oz rump steak or the Mega Mixed Grill which features rump steak, gammon, pork loin, a lamb chop, two sausages, onion rings, mushrooms, black pudding and a brace of eggs.
The £6 menu includes lasagne with salad and garlic ciabatta, a triple cheese and bacon burger and a chargrilled 8oz rump steak, while the £4 selection includes a 10oz gammon steak, various burgers and breaded scampi.
However, it was the £2 menu that drew our curiosity, so that was what we decided to sample.
For such a price you’d expect it to have more catches than a particularly tricky Japanese puzzle box, but there are none.
I ordered fish, chips and peas, and right up until the moment of its arrival I half expected a tiddlywink-sized plate bearing a scorched minnow, two shreds of potato and a couple of sad green musket balls.
What I got instead was a decently-sized and well-cooked piece of battered fish plus generous servings of crispy chips and plump peas.
My companion chose goats’ cheese ciabatta with balsamic and raspberry dressing and a salad garnish, which was equally tasty and generous.
For the same price we could also have chosen anything from chicken salad to jacket potatoes with a respectable choice of fillings.
Ellington’s also offers breakfasts ranging from toast with marmalade or jam for £1 to a full English for £4, a children’s menu at £2 per dish and desserts for £2 apiece, or £1.50 if you opt for ice cream.
Our bill, including two main courses, a couple of soft drinks and a side of chips, came to £8.10 and we left feeling more than satisfied.
One is left wondering how any pub firm can do this and still make a living. My guess is some very judicious selection of suppliers, although I recently read a book in which a cafe owner kept his prices keen by stepping through a time portal and buying his stock in 1958.
Either way, Ellington’s is well worth a visit.
