Cock Inn Birdwell

Jane and I love a good curry so the news that authentic examples were now available at the Cock, Birdwell soon had us scurrying in that direction. New tenants Rachel and Ady took over at the end of March, bringing with them their respective traditional English and Bangladeshi cooking skills. The pub itself is essentially unchanged, not that any change was needed. The main L-shaped bar has a slate floor, big windows to the garden (and M1, happily largely screened by trees), comfy bench seating, beams, brasswork and old village photos. One bench effectively separates the drinking and eating areas. There’s also a snug known as the Saddle Bar plus a large, enclosed garden.

Lunchtime food is all ‘trad’ but on Wednesday to Saturday evenings you have a choice of that menu or one offering a wide range of curries. First, though, some beer, the real ales on tap being Marston’s Wainwright, Theakston’s Best Bitter and Tetley Bitter, the last being my selection. Since it moved from its Leeds home to the Banks’s brewery in Wolverhampton, aspersions have been cast on this famous brew but I must say that I still find it a splendid old-fashioned ‘proper’ bitter and my example was in fine form.

On to the grub, and for starters I went for Chicken Chaat (£2.95) and was soon presented with a surprisingly large dish of tender chicken sauteed with vegetables and aromatic spices sitting on a chapati – totally delicious and astonishingly good value. Jane’s Chicken Tikka (£2.95) was ‘truly fantastic’ with ample well-marinated succulent chunks accompanied by a side salad and minty sauce.

Surely it couldn’t get better but yes it did. For mains, I chose Ady’s Mixed Biryani (£11.95) which arrived as a huge plateful accompanied by a separate bowl of sauce. Mixed in with the rice and vegetables was lots of chicken, prawns and tender lamb whilst the sauce, though quite mild, was packed with spicy flavour. It really was amazing, the only problem being that my puny appetite couldn’t cope with such a massive portion, especially on top of the significant starter. Remember to bring a doggy bag next time.

Jane plumped for Prawn Korma (£8.95) with Mushroom Rice (£2.95) which she pronounced as insanely good. The dish was packed with big juicy prawns and the sauce was creamy and coconuty – a great combination with the mushroom-heavy rice.

We agreed that these were among the best curries we had ever had anywhere and unbeatable in terms of value for money. Ingredients are clearly of the topmost quality cooked with immense skill. We really can’t recommend this place highly enough to fellow curry fans.

The ‘trad’ menu also looks very good, featuring the likes of Steak Pie, Fish & Chips, Stew with Mash & Yorkshire Pud, Scampi and Burgers, mostly around the £9 mark. However, we know what we’ll be eating there again soon.

Paul & Jane Ainsworth

Shaw Lane Sports Club

This column has visited quite a few of the area’s pubs but none of our many clubs, some of which do offer grub. We’d noticed adverts by Shaw Lane Sports Club in town for their food offerings so decided to give it a try.

The Club is a sprawling establishment, catering for a huge number of different sports plus loads of other activities such as a social drop-in for older people and work skills courses. It’s also a popular venue for weddings, conferences and other functions. You don’t need to be a member to take advantage of the bar and food.

We arrived on a Wednesday evening just before food service started at 5.30. The well-appointed bar was already pretty busy (it was World Cup time) and one real ale was available, a nice drop of Stancills Blonde. Meals, however, are served in the somewhat spartan function room behind. During the week, there’s a different menu each night – Burgers on Monday, Curry on Tuesday, Chippy Night on Thursday and on our appointed day, Pies. Sunday lunches are also available.

Each night follows the same very reasonable pricing regime – main courses are £6.95 or two for £10, with starters and puddings both at £2.95. Our choice of pies was Steak, Steak & Kidney, Chicken & Mushroom and Vegan Pie of the Week, all accompanied by homemade chips, mushy peas and gravy. I opted for the Steak & Kidney whilst Jane had the Chicken & Mushroom. We were both delighted with our pies, which we later found out are sourced from Speeds Butchers of Monk Bretton. As is often the case nowadays, my Steak and Kidney was light on the latter but not everybody relishes its gamey flavour as much as I do – and there was enough to impart a reasonable amount of ‘earthiness’. The chips were also top-notch. There was nothing fancy about these meals but for a fiver apiece, they represented excellent value for money.

For pudding, I had Warm Chocolate Fudge Cake and Jane, Raspberry Cheescake (Sticky Toffee Pudding was the other option). These were obviously ‘bought in’ but were of good quality and, again, for the price you couldn’t complain.

Something that did impress us very much was the extreme friendliness of the staff which more than made up for the rather impersonal surroundings. You can certainly see why this Club is such a popular place. Membership is Just £12 a year and that gets you 10% off drinks. We’ll be back soon for the Curry Night.

Paul Ainsworth