An evening of great British food and rude beer mats

For our Anniversary meal this year my hubby and I paid a visit to one of our favourite haunts, The Angel Inn, in the nearby village of Corbridge. The Angel is an old Inn dating back to 1752 that serves fabulous locally sourced food and ales and also offers accommodation for those who want to spend a bit of time in this gorgeous Northumbrian village. They even have their own flock of sheep that graze nearby which are eventually served as spring lamb on the menu - fancy that!

Although a restaurant is available we wanted something a bit more casual and cosy so chose to dine in the bar which has a lovely rustic feel to it with scrubbed pine tables dotted about. We were handed a bar menu along with a specials menu that tempted us with a delicious and varied selection. There was everything you'd expect from a great British bar menu including steak, fish and chips, lamb casserole with dumplings and beef and ale pie with prices ranging from around £11.00 to £22.00. The children's selection also caught my eye - it offered some great options for kids such as chicken curry and rice and sausage and mash. There was not a chicken nugget in sight for once!

We had ordered our food and sat back to enjoy our drinks when my hubby noticed the beer mats on the table. They were promoting Fentiman's drinks and had an odd shaped hole cut out of them - I'll let the photos below do the talking for me - we thought they were hilarous!

We were puzzled by the odd-shaped hole cut out of the beer mat

The purpose of the hole soon became clear - ha ha!

And here's another!

Our starters arrived really quickly and we couldn't believe the size of the portions. I'd ordered a duo of Ham Hock Terrine and Pork Terrine which was served with onion marmalade, english mustard and some crunchy croutons. My hubby had a warm salad of smoked bacon, black pudding, croutons and quails eggs. Both starters were really plentiful and would easily serve as a light main course themselves. They were also really fresh and totally delicious. My terrine tasted like homemade and I'm sure it was.

Warm salad of smoked bacon and black pudding with quails eggs

My duo of ham hock and pork terrines tasted like homemade
And I'm sure they were!

Our mains arrived shortly after and they too were fairly large - mine in particular was really hearty - Confit Shoulder of Pork with Celeriac Mash, Buttered Spring Cabbage and Apple and Rhubarb Compote. My husband's also looked delicious - he'd gone for the Pan Seared Lambs Liver, Smoked Bacon, Shallot and Red Wine Sauce and served with Champ Mash. 

We really enjoyed both dishes - the flavour combinations in my dish were perfect - the celeriac mash had just a hit of celeriac that did not overpower the creamy taste of the mash and the pork was so tender it was falling apart on my fork. Unfortunately I couldn't quite manage to finish mine such was the size of the portion.

Confit of Pork - a hearty and deliciously tasty choice

Pan seared lambs liver - did this come from the restaurant's own flock of sheep I wonder?

Alas, full to the brim we both declined the homemade deserts but had I been able to fit one in, it would have been a difficult decision between the Sticky Toffee Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce and the Treacle Tart, which the menu suggested was served with Newcastle Brown Ale Fudge Ice Cream!

Overall we had a really enjoyable night of food and laughter at The Angel Inn. In my opinion, if you're in the area and looking for a place that serves good quality, local and plentiful pub fare and a wide choice of local beers then don't go past The Angel. 

The word on the street is that the management are soon opening a Fish and Chip Shop in Corbridge - I'll definitely be trying that!