THE PARTRIDGE INN - Singleton

As we have entered in to the festive period, we thought we'd take a jaunt to The Partridge, alas there was no pear tree in sight.

Upon entering, it didn't take long to tick off all the basic pub fundamentals. It was warm, the staff were friendly, there was music playing in the background, and when you chuck in some oak beams and a fireplace, you're certainly off to a good start.

From the outside this looks like a fairly sizable pub, but once inside, there is no trace of an atmosphere sucking chasm. When choosing a table, there are nooks and crannies a plenty, giving you your own space whilst still feeling part of the general goings on. We took our drinks to a table and settled down to make some important decisions. The prices are not low, unsurprisingly, being that we were near Chichester in a rather nice area, neither were they too high, as we have found in pubs not a million miles from here. An average meal will cost about £12 - £14. A nice touch was the nibbles menu on offer. A selection of small plates, including bread, olives, sausage roll and scotch egg, are £4 each, or you can get three for £11. We however were only interested in the main event. There were two pies on sale, Dad went for the steak and blue cheese option, this was to be kept company by mashed potato. I went for the rather exotic sounding beetroot tarte tatin with sautéed potatoes and rocket salad.

When the food was placed before us, it certainly looked impressive. My tart in particular was very well presented. Dad's pie was a very nice pie, it was also a 100% pie, fully encased in homemade pastry. The mash was also very good indeed, and let me tell you, Dad knows his mash. My tart was very good, although I'm sure it was described on the menu as being a sweet chilli beetroot tart, and there was no sign of the sweet chilli bit. There was however the bonus of halloumi scattered over the tart, and I very much enjoy halloumi. I wasn't completely convinced by my potatoes. I have a feeling they may have been around a little while, suffering from that slightly leathery texture you get when you leave a cooked potato and then heat it up again.  This didn't really detract from my meal, which I genuinely enjoyed.

As I mentioned at the start, this pub ticks all the boxes. They are doing all the simple things that so many pubs find so hard to get right. It's also a warm and welcoming place to enjoy good food. Other than a few minor tweaks, we couldn't find fault with our experience.

Atmosphere          8

Service                 9

Food                    8

Value                   8

Verdict                 4.5*

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