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Fill Your Belly In Staffordshire!
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Recommendation added: 13/08/2006 01:55
By: dewberry (YSUK rating +1061)dewberry has been thanked 9 times for this contribution
"The only reason I discovered The Wayfarer was because my seven year old was desperate for the loo while we were driving through Staffordshire. I fancied a glass of something cold anyway, so the whole family (including my mum) trooped in. As soon as I realised this was a carvery as well as a pub… well, that was dinner sorted.
The carvery meal is absolutely delicious. For £6.25 you get a choice of turkey or beef which is carved in front of you from a huge joint, Yorkshire pudding, stuffing and as many veggies as you can fit on your plate. You can, of course, have both meats so don't be embarrassed to ask. The meat is thickly sliced and the chef does his best to make sure you get a lean slice on your plate; I thought both meats were deliciously tender and perfectly cooked. The turkey had a lovely buttery flavour to it and literally fell apart as I was cutting it. I particularly enjoyed the Yorkies and stuffing, which both tasted home made and wonderfully fresh.
The vegetables were also very good. You can choose from carrots, peas, green beans, cabbage and boiled and roast potatoes. The roast potatoes really are to die for; crispy and crunchy on the outside but gorgeously fluffy inside – no grease either, which is a minor miracle when it comes to pub roasters! The boiled spuds were great too, thick chunks of fluffy potato which soaked up the rich, meaty gravy beautifully. To be fair, all the veg was cooked well with no sign that it had been sitting around in its serving bowls for too long. Even the carrots were good!
Our kids both had a child's portion of the same carvery, and you wouldn't know the difference between this one for £3.95 and the standard sized version. Neither of the kids' could finish their meals because they were huge – at least as big as mine by the time they'd asked for extra Yorkshire pudding and piled their plates with roasters! They definitely enjoyed the meal though, and had their eyes not been bigger than their bellies they'd probably have eaten it all!
My mum didn't want a full meal so went for a carvery baguette. This looked absolutely delicious; a freshly baked baguette filled with tonnes of the turkey and beef from the carvery and lashings of rich gravy. This was good value at £3.65 because the large baguette made this a meal in itself.
We all had room for pudding. Of course. The Chocolate Waffle Meltdown is possibly the best chocolate dessert I've eaten this year. Three sweet waffles topped with hot chocolate sauce and chocolate ice cream – I would have licked the plate if I was at home. Enough said. My seven year old did actually lick her plate after munching a portion of Sticky Toffee Pudding and Custard, which looked and smelled absolutely divine. Ice Cream is also available at £1.95 for three scoops; one each of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla.
To wash your meal down you can choose from a large selection of draught and bottled lagers and beers, including John Smiths, Kronenberg 1664, Carling Extra Cold and Guinness. Also a lovely new (to me anyway) drink called Kronenberg Blanc, which is a lighter version of the original 1664. Alternatively you can choose from all the top brand spirits, wine or a selection of reasonably priced alcopops. I finished my meal off with a delicious Tia Maria spiked liqueur coffee, costing just £2.95 I estimate there was at least a double Tia Maria in there!
The Wayfarer is fully suitable for disabled visitors, my mum's disabled and the restaurant caused her no problems at all. The doors are wide and both the bar and restaurant areas are laid out in such a way that there's plenty of space between the tables, meaning there's lots of room to manoeuvre for visitors with mobility problems. It's child friendly too, while we were eating a family came in with a tiny baby and a toddler and the very helpful staff did everything they could to accommodate them all.
We spent around £50 on food and drinks for three adults and two children, which was definitely money well spent. We all left the restaurant feeling pleasantly full, relaxed and ready to complete to rest of our journey.
To find this little out of the way carvery, you need to get onto the A34 Stone Road in Stafford (or anywhere this major road goes) and follow it until the name briefly changes to The Fillybrooks. The Wayfarer is located roughly halfway down this dual carriageway.
The Wayfarer,
The Fillybrooks
Stone
Staffordshire
ST15 0NB
Tel – 01785 812644"
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| Comment | Author | Date | I am the Assistant Manager at the above venue, and would like to thank the member for their comments, however our correct address is
The Wayfarer,
The Fillybrooks
Stone
Staffordshire
ST15 0NB | Steve Walters | 03/01/2007 | Eeeek! Sorry about that - have edited the review now!
Thanks, Chris
| dewberry
YSUK Rating +1061 | 12/01/2007 | I live in Stafford and on Friday the 5th of Sept 08.i came there with a party of 6 to celebrate a friends birthday.
Now i use the Holly Bush in Salt regulary and i am led to believe that The Wayfarer is its sister pub.
Well i can honestly say in name only!!!
The welcome was not existant,there were no polite hellos,or showing to seats.The table areas were not spotless,tabletop was sticky and grubby.
The food was well below the par of The Holly Bush.
Starters were cold.The Breadmushrooms were dry,untasty and the salad wilted and shrivelled and bitter.
The other starters were less than appealling apart from the Prawn Cocktail which was lovely!
When the main courses come we had to wait for cutlery to be replaced.One of the guests was burnt by a waitress who dropped a plate of food on her arm.
We all had different meals.
The suet pudding was nice but not piping hot..and one ladies pudding contained a large piece of plastic cointer inside it!!
Sea Bream was cooked beyond belief ...looked as if it had been barbequed and was poorly boned.
I myself had the Pork Chops with Rabit...the rabit was horrid it was greasy and over seasoned and spoiled two very nice loin chops...( note to chef..pork chops have a bone..loins do not)
But we ate and enjoyed the company..until...the arrival of a band!!!
There we are eating our meal when a group of very bad musicians strike up singing Lilly Allen!!
Had i known that our 62 year old guest would have been subjected to that racket i would not have even set foot in the establishment.
We all left after a £79 bill for less than decent food without deserts and we definatly wont ever be going back.
The Holly Bush may only have space for 50/60 covers but trust me its worth its weight in gold.The boss needs to replace his catering staff swiftly at the Wayfarer before they leave him with a massive hole in his bank balance.
From now on...no space at the Holly Bush ill be going home for a chinese! | Breeze45 | 06/09/2008 |
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