THE SPREAD EAGLE - Farnham Road, Liss

We haven't been to this pub for some years, so thought it time for a visit. After a few miserable days, we were lucky enough to have the sun today, so wanted to make the most of it in a nice pub garden.

There's plenty of parking here, and there was indeed a lovely pub garden, so that was a good start. Like so many good pubs, The Spread Eagle is a very old building, lending it plenty of character. The service was welcoming as we ordered drinks and collected menus, as it was throughout our experience.

The menu started out very well, with the initial items showing great care, with additions to meals that would put them a notch above the norm. After that it becomes a bit harder to explain how we felt about the menu. At first glance, there seems to be a lot there, but closer inspection uncovered that much of it was either children's food, burgers, sandwiches or a selection from their smoke house. This was mainly baby back ribs, chicken wings, pork belly and beef brisket. There were a few pub classics, ham egg and chips and of course fish and chips. We weren't entirely convinced by some of the prices either. Some meals like the classic burger and ham egg and chips were £12, but other meals were inexplicably notched up at £15 / £16. It is worth pointing out here that with the purchase of an adult meal, children can eat for just £2, and you can't say fairer than that.

I had the chicken burger, with the addition of blue cheese, (£12), Dad went for his favourite, ham, egg and chips, (also £12). We felt that this was a case of the food having to be very good to make up for the erratic pricing, and it wasn't long at all before the food arrived and our judgement could commence.

First of all, both meals looked excellent, glaringly made up of good quality ingredients. Secondly, and I'll try not to go on about this too much, the chips were amazing. Homemade, beautifully crisp, and seasoned perfectly. So we are off to a good start. My chicken was enveloped in a wonderful bun with a seeded top and a toasted inside. The chicken within was big and juicy and topped by an oozing lump of blue cheese. I was also the proud owner of a little pot of coleslaw, this was also very good. Dad's ham was home cooked and of a high quality, he was also blessed with those same exemplary chips. After our misgivings over the prices, we were quickly won over by the quality of the food. Not a single problem could we find, and we do always try.

The sun does of course always help, but we had a lovely lunch in the beer garden of The Spread Eagle. The service was great and friendly, the food was delicious, especially the chips, and we both agreed that the food we chose was very good value. Weather we would be happy to pay £15 for the same thing is another question entirely. If you happen to find yourself on Farnham Road, whistling through Liss, and if the sun is shining, and if you happen to have a few under 13's that need feeding, it's certainly worth dropping in.

Atmosphere          8

Service                 8

Food                    8

Value                   7

Verdict                 4.5

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