On Saturday night my husband and I headed over
to Saltdean, Brighton to try out the newly refurbished Saltdean Tavern. The
restaurant has recently been re-branded as a Stonehouse restaurant specialising
in pizzas and carvery roasts. My first thought was that this was an odd
combination but actually upon being in the restaurants and seeing the breadth
of the menu and all the big family and friends tables I could understand that
there is logic in having opposites as the attraction it it means everyone in
your party can be satisfied and enjoy their meal out.
First Impressions
The restaurant is situated behind the old
Saltdean Lido, which is currently being renovated (over a very long term and
with a few tricky issues) so the location is super easy to get to and there is
tons of well-lit parking. The outside looks really smart and there is lovely
wooden play equipment for the kids, I know mine would love it and we'll come
back in the warmer months to enjoy the local area and a meal there.
As you enter the building you have a bar area to
the left and restaurant to the right and the refurbishment is lovely. The decor
looks really smart and very welcoming. You can see the chefs working in the
pizza preparation area as you arrive and that looks very inviting. There is
also a salad bar, carvery and ice cream factory on show too.
We arrived about 8.15pm, a quarter of an hour
after our reservation but this wasn't an issue to the restaurant, which made us
feel at ease. When we arrived there was not a clearly defined welcome area so
we just stood in the entrance and waited and a waitress took the initiative to
approach us. We told her we had a reservation and she checked this out and took
us to a marked table. There was plenty of space in the restaurant area and
between the tables so you could feel relaxed but the floor was full of crumbs
and the menus were sticky from split soft drinks and beers. So our first
impression was a bit mixed to be honest.
The Food
I have to say the highlight of our evening was
the food and so it should be. The prices are super reasonable and we managed to
have a three course meal for two of us with soft drinks and wine for around £37
and we were very pleased with this. We were both stuffed full and I even
managed to take half my pizza home with me.
I ordered potato skins with gammon and cheese,
which comes with a side of sour cream and American style relish dip and at
£3.29 they were superb value. I was surprised to see it was the American style
squeeze cheese included as the menu had not specified this but I found I
enjoyed it anyway. My husband wanted some nachos but he wondered what size the
portion would be so he ordered the sharer portion thinking I could have some
and it wouldn't be that big. Again he was pleasantly surprised and impressed
with the portion size, the decent amount of sour cream, salsa and guacamole he
got and also he had loads of pulled pork on top, all for just £4.79.
For main course I went for pizza as to be honest
I felt the carvery meat and veg didn't look the freshest. Also with most other
main courses you could help yourself to chips and salad and again I didn't
fancy chips from a hot plate (I like them cooked to order) and the salad wasn't
my kind of items - there was thing like pasta salad, coleslaw, cous cous and I
realise most people would enjoy this but I prefer just the veg kind do items
like sweet corn, beetroot and carrot. I must mention at this point that I am
pretty fussy and I have set ideas for how I like things to be and luckily the pizza
didn't disappoint, it had an exquisite thin crust and I choose the BBQ chicken
at £6.99.
My husband went for a burger and you can choose
from beef, chicken or Butternut and chickpea, a single is £5.99 or you can
double up for an extra £1.50. There are then loads of options for toppers for
the burgers at about £1.49 each and my husband had a single beef burger with
spicy topper, which was pepperoni, jalapeños and mozzarella, he said it was
very enjoyable. The burger came out on a tray and he was able to add as much
salad, veg and chips as he liked and go back for me and more if he fancied. He
said the chips were fine off the hot plate, not dried out and still tasty,
which was good to hear.
We were both absolutely stuffed after our
starters and main course and normally we would probably have stopped there but
in the interests of a full review we wanted to try out some puddings. My
husband had treacle sponge with custard (£3.29) which was OK but nothing
special and I had a banoffee quesadilla and wow, it was so yummy. I'd
definitely have it again, especially at £3.49. It was a super large portion and
two people could easily have shared it.
We both had diet cokes, which were available in
small, medium and large and I also had a glass of wine, which was very nice and
all drinks prices that I saw seemed reasonable and the drinks were served well
in clean, appropriate glasses.
In summary the food that came out for the kitchen was really good and certainly amazing value for money. The food that was on display is probably best eaten at the beginning of service or during a busy time when they are regularly replenishing. We arrived about 8.15pm and we were the last people to eat in the restaurant so understandably the vegetables and salad were not re-stocked. This appears to be a day-time and early evening venue.
In summary the food that came out for the kitchen was really good and certainly amazing value for money. The food that was on display is probably best eaten at the beginning of service or during a busy time when they are regularly replenishing. We arrived about 8.15pm and we were the last people to eat in the restaurant so understandably the vegetables and salad were not re-stocked. This appears to be a day-time and early evening venue.
Service
I think the thing to remember here is that you
are not necessarily going to come t this restaurant for a five star special
night out for two. It is what it, and I'd sum that up as a great place t go
with family or a large group where we all want something a little different to
eat for great value price sand. A nice informal atmosphere. It's the kind of
place I'd go for a Mums night out, or a casual meal with my parents.
The order is taken at the table and the two
girls that served us where both nice enough but the service was basic. We tried
to order ribs and was told we've got no ribs and there wasn't a sorry or an
offer of an alternate like there might be in a more expensive restaurant. Both
girls were chatty, one more so than the other and perhaps she went into details
I didn't need but she meant well and we received the food we ordered and when I
asked to order extra drinks they came quickly, so I have no real problem with
service. It was just basic but fairly efficient.
Part of the Community
One of the aspects both my husband and I noticed
about the Saltdean Tavern was that it had a community focus. There appeared to
be local people meeting up and you could hear neighbours and friends saying hi
as they bumped into each other. There was a notice board on the wall for
community activities and also a charity voting scheme in place, so they could
support local charities, which is a nice touch.
In Conclusion
We had a very nice meal at the Saltdean Tavern and we went home full and happy. The biggest draw for me is the great prices and variety of menu items available. I don't see it as a 'date night' venue but more somewhere to enjoy cosy family meals. It is somewhere I can see my husband and I taking the kids to for a great lunch or early diner if we are over Brighton way (its about an hour away from us).
In Conclusion
We had a very nice meal at the Saltdean Tavern and we went home full and happy. The biggest draw for me is the great prices and variety of menu items available. I don't see it as a 'date night' venue but more somewhere to enjoy cosy family meals. It is somewhere I can see my husband and I taking the kids to for a great lunch or early diner if we are over Brighton way (its about an hour away from us).
Disclosure: We received our meal free of charge for the purpose of this review. I have not been instructed what to write and I remain honest.
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