THE GEORGE INN - Finchdean

We hadn't been to The George for a long time, probably a good few years, so we thought it time to check in and see what foodie delights they could offer our rumbly tumtums.

Like many traditional English pubs, The George is out in the sticks. It's a nice looking old pub, and when you enter, it feels warm and welcoming, especially on a slightly soggy day like today. We got some drinks in, collected menu's and retired to a table in the conservatory. Built as an extension at the back of the pub, this offers a much lighter dining experience.

We skipped over the light bites menu in favour of the full menu for hungry grownups. The menu reads very well, combining the obvious things you'd expect to find, with some imaginative and largely vegetarian options. It covers all angles, and if you can't find something you like the sound of here, perhaps you'd be better off staying at home for a ham sandwich. We had heard that The George has a bit of a reputation for good chips. Regular readers will know that is something that interests me. For some reason I was drawn to the smoked haddock and salmon fishcakes, this is available as a starter or main, and is served with a salad. Torn between my desire for chips and the irresistible pull of the fishcakes, I had a side of chips with said fishcakes, chips costing "£2.95. Speaking of price, this seems an appropriate point to leap forward in time slightly, as it wasn't until I started tucking in to my food that I found out the price of what I was eating. I casually asked Dad how much the fishcakes were. Turns out they were £12.95. Now we are all for paying a bit more when it is warranted, but no matter how nice the salad, I find it hard to qualify the price of my lunch. I should probably mention the chips after that big build up. They were certainly better than your average pub chip, and were homemade. We felt they could have spent a little more time in the fryer to crisp up and darken though. Dad chose the homemade steak pie with mash and seasonal vegetables. He said the pie was very nice, as was the gravy, a much overlooked element, but the mash was a little lumpy. We wouldn't send anyone to prison for the odd lump in their mash, but, there is always a but, if you charge £12 for pie and mash, there should be no lumps, and that's a scientific fact.

All in all, we enjoyed our lunch, the service was friendly and The George is a nice pub. As is so often the case though, we felt we were paying over the odds for the food. We feel that sometimes pubs seem to set their prices as a whole without thinking about each dish individually. Fishcakes and salad should not cost £12.95, that is also a scientific fact.

Atmosphere          7

Service                 7

Food                    8

Value                   6

Verdict                 4*

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