Mumbai indian restaurant, Fernhurst

I'm no curry expert but I do thoroughly enjoy some of the tasty spicey stuff.

Friday night started with a phone call from some friends suggesting meeting at Mumbai in Fernhurst for a curry.  Seeing as I was in the middle of cooking a curry it sounded like a great idea to freeze what i'd cooked and go out instead!

Mumbai is a no frills, what you expect in a small village, kind of Indian restaurant.  It's small, lazily decorated and very popular!  For the first time ever, we turned up with no booking and managed to get a table for 4.  Generally at the weekends you have to book (tip).

The menu is to be expected, drinks the same.  We started with a few obligatory poppadums and the relishes and moved on to a variety of rice, saag aloo, vindaloo's, lamb badaami, chicken raz special, peshwari naan and bhaji's.

I can't compare it to authentic indian cooking but I can say that it's very tasty, comes in just the right portion size, is very affordable and the service is fast and very friendly.

I've been quite a few times and wouldn't hesitate to take friends there or recommend it to others.  Don't expect fine dining, just a good cheap curry.

Looking forward to a visit to The Earl of March next week.

The Earl of March, Lavant, nr Chichester is somewhere we've been before but are revisiting next week.  On the way to Chichester this place looks a bit downtrodden from the outside (in my opinion could do with a freshen up of paint) but I guess as it's set right on the main road from Midhurst to Chichester, traffic dirt soon builds up.

However, don't let this stop you from going in.  I last went a couple of years ago and had the best lamb ever, so I go next week with high expectations.  Fingers crossed it remains as good as it used to be.

The Earl of March, Lavant, West Sussex

Call me a creature of habit.....

...... but if I find somewhere I like, I do tend to go back until I either get bored of it or have a bad experience.

So last week saw me back at Gartons in Midhurst for a quick lunch. 

I'm not going to harp on too long about the place but suffice to say I had another great meal.  This time it was macaroni and cheese, came with a small side salad and I opted for bacon as an extra - yes, was very hungry!!

Delicious! I'm not sure that any other cheese was added other than a strong cheddar, but was really yummy and very filling - all for about £6.  Great service as usual, friendly owner and staff and didn't have to wait long for it.

Also found out that if you live or work in Midhurst, Gartons seem to do takeouts which I wasn't aware of.  Judging by the stream of people coming in and out it would suggest that this is a popular service for workers looking for something fresh and tasty that differs from a dodgy soggy sarnie pack from Tesco's Direct!

The Squirrel Inn - Hurtmore, Surrey

So another day, another pub!! This time it was The Squirrel Inn, Hurtmore, Surrey.

Just off the A3 near Milford, this pub is lovely and full of character.

Looks fairly small as you drive in and walk to the bar but step into the restaurant area and it's a bit like a tardis, just opens up and is huge! There's a lovely seating area outside, both right at the front and around the back.

We sat inside and as it was a Monday lunch, it was fairly quiet.  A good menu with plenty to choose from and also a few fish specials that I was advised change daily.

I fancied something really filling and chose the battered haddock with chips and minted mashed peas and my colleague had a salmon fillet on a bed of stir fried vegetables. 

The service was excellent - all drinks and food taken at the table.  Friendly, quick and professional.  The food arrived in about 10 minutes and was really well presented - my plate was loaded with a large piece of fish and some lovely chips!

We worked our way through the food and decided that as full as we were, we were going to treat ourselves to a pudding - obviously I chose sticky toffee pudding which I think I'm addicted to, and my companion chose iced-cream.

Well, my pud was one of the best pub stick toffees I'd ever had, gooey, heavy, surrounded with toffee sauce and iced cream and just perfect. Whether or not they make it on site I don't know, but even if they don't, they've found the ideal supplier and I would have that over and and over.

Overall, I would definitely go back to eat.  Highly recommended.

www.thesquirrel-hurtmore.co.uk

The Spotted Cow Pub, Angmering, West Sussex

So what a lovely weekend weather wise!!

A little trip to Angmering in West Sussex, found us at the Spotted Cow pub for lunch with family.

We arrived about 1.30pm which was just enough time to get a drink, sit and peruse the menu before ordering.  The pub from first impression is a bit grotty.  It's nothing special but was very welcoming and seems to be quite large inside. I didn't get to have a good look around as we were with an elderly relative so sat fairly close to the door, but there were plenty of people there, families, couples and groups of friends.

The menu had some good choices and the chap behind the bar said he'd come to our table to take our order which was nice.

I chose a goats cheese and beetroot salad and asked if it was possible to get some chicken added and was very pleased when they said they could.  Some pubs are very rigid and stick solely to what's on the menu, so this was a good surprise.  Hubby had a pie with chips and veg and there was also a fish and chips ordered.

Food arrived after about 10 minutes and my salad was great. Very well presented in a huge bowl with lots of cheese and chicken. The pie also looked very nice and I'm told was tasty too. The fish and chips was pretty standard but went down well.

Price wise, I thought it was at the upper end of what a pub should charge for fairly standard fair (on average our mains were £11-£12 each) but I'm beginning to realise that this is fairly standard these days.  If anyone knows anywhere I can get a great pub meal for under a tenner, I'd be very happy to hear from you!!

The service was excellent, friendly and chatty yet unobtrusive. 

Would I go back? Yes, if I was in the area but I wouldn't chose it as a destination to make a special visit to.

The Spotted Cow, Angmering

The King William IV, West Horsley, Surrey

This is a lovely pub in the pretty village of West Horsley, Surrey.

I've always liked this place, despite it probably being in need of a bit of an update.  It has lots of character, a restaurant area, plenty of seating in the bar area if you want to eat there or just sit and a lovely garden.  It's not the biggest of pubs but a popular place and very good option for a Sunday roast out.

The service is always very friendly, the prices what you'd expect from a Surrey pub (about £10-£12 for a large roast dinner) and they have a good selection of beers to chose from.

I ordered beef, husband lamb and both our plates came out full to the brim and we were both extremely happy.  It's not gastro food or chain food, just good old fashioned home cooking.  Tasty, affordable and filling.

Would definitely recommend coming here, specially if they're holding a barbeque in the garden in summer, or just to enjoy a Sunday lunch that doesn't involve any cooking or washing up after!!

King William IV West Horsley, Surrey