CityLife

Horse & Jockey

The Horse and Jockey

The Horse And Jockey
Chorlton
May 2011

Standing within the pretty historic conservation area of Chorlton Green and adjoining the area’s trendiest street, Beech Road, The Horse And Jockey pub has quite a location to live up to.

The district of Chorlton has an unusually ramshackle geography, with other focal points including the bar-littered ‘four banks’ crossroads of Wilbraham Road, the Irish landmarks around High Lane and the Water Park bordering the River Mersey.

All are sought-after residential addresses – for students and growing families alike – and the area’s liberal, community-driven reputation has made it an increasingly popular place to spend time, particularly with a drink in hand.

With such a setting, The Horse And Jockey could never really fail to draw custom – but many felt that its former incarnation as a worn-down, lairy alehouse was not a celebration befitting of its 16th century roots.

This began to change in December 2008, with a takeover by Hoi Polloi Pub Co and an
operations strategy by director Peter Dalton – founder of Canal Street’s groundbreaking Manto Bar back in 1990 – who decided it was time to smarten it up a bit.
 
Or a lot, as it turns out. The internal structure has been extensively refurbished, with original features highlighted by bright paintwork and well-devised lighting.

A new family-friendly focus has also emerged. In fact, it has become so accessible that last year it was named ‘best UK pub for dogs’ – not a slur against the ropier end of Chorlton’s society ladies, but a Kennel Club award for its welcoming attitude
towards canines.

One of the biggest changes at The Horse And Jockey is its food offering, with a new kitchen serving both the pub and a multi-level dining area set in the extended upper floors of the building, overlooking Beech Road and the Green.

The latter area, known as The Dining Rooms, is light and airy, with white and pale pea green walls setting off the exposed timber beams of the eaves. Framed pictures introduce a residential flavour. It is a more serene space than the pub and boasts table service, rather than ordering at the bar – and, to match, a menu with restaurant-level prices.

Judging by the half-full nature of The Dining Rooms on our Friday night visit – in contrast with the hugely busy pub food tables – there is some consumer wariness of the difference between the two. Even the staff appeared a little surprised at our request for a table ‘upstairs’. 

Our waitress was friendly and casual, taking our orders without a notepad, which was of mild concern; but despite doublechecking of a detail or two, all arrived correctly.
 
There is a huge choice of beers, including those produced by H&J’s own microbrewery, the Bootleg Brewing Co. However, to accompany our meal we opted for a Soleus Organic merlot from Chile (125ml £4.40, 250ml £6.25, bottle £18.25).

Our starters, a Lancashire cheese and leek hotpot (£5.50) and pan seared scallops (£7.50), arrived surprisingly quickly after ordering.

Also quickly, it became clear that the afore-described ‘table service’ may be overstating the case a little. For most of our meal, there were no staff in view, let alone within eye-catching distance – which is awkward if you suddenly realise you’re missing a piece of cutlery, or want another drink.

Or, in my case, to send back cold scallops.

The waitress had asked the standard, ‘Everything okay?’ almost immediately after delivering the plates – then disappeared back to the busy pub – so I hadn’t had chance to find out.

After discovering all was not okay and waiting some time for the waitress’s return, without success, I walked down to the bar to find someone. To the staff’s credit, the response was apologetic and very swift. Second time around, the shellfish were a much better temperature, but signs of rushing were evident, with some flecks of carbon from the pan present.

Served in rustic fashion with the coral attached, the seafood was otherwise well-cooked, but I wasn’t a fan of the medicinally-sharp orange and fennel salsa which accompanied.

My partner fared better with his hotpot, which was well-flavoured, albeit very simple, taking the form of a viscous cheese and leek soup with sliced potato on top.

My main of fillet steak (6oz, £16.50) was lovely in itself; perfectly rare and well-seasoned – but those crunchy black bits from the scallops were back. ‘From the grill’ is fair enough, but random carcinogenic specks are less appealing.

It was advertised as being served with ‘fat chips, roasted tomato, flat mushroom and watercress’. The chips and watercress could not be faulted – but I felt a bit cheated by the mushroom, which was only half present. Did they give the other half to another diner?

The tomato was also disappointing: a halved, under-ripe specimen which had not spent enough time in the oven to be ‘roasted’. My final nitpick was the dish’s presentation on a wooden board, which was attractive, but not heat-retaining, nor practical for my side order of minty peas.

My companion had chosen a dish from the specials list; a Barnsley chop (£15.50), with crushed new potatoes. The latter were combined with tomatoes and red peppers, which added some spring sunshine to the plate.

The meat was boldly flavoured and mostly very agreeable, but difficult to separate from the bone and very, very rare in places. Fortunately, we like bloody meat – but many don’t, particularly lamb, and this preference should always be checked.

For dessert we couldn’t resist the treacle tart with clotted cream and warm chocolate brownie with honeycomb ice cream (both £4.75), which were superb; undoubtedly the highlight of the meal.

It is difficult not to consider our experience in terms of ‘pub vs restaurant’, as this is what the split areas suggest.

Our impression of The Dining Rooms fell somewhere between the two. This is not surprising, as the same kitchen and serving staff are seemingly used for both, with decor and menu options relied upon to up the ante.

However, in a pub arena the food is undoubtedly of a very good standard and, despite a glaring error in attentiveness, we did come away feeling well-treated.

Ironing out issues in food service can take a lot of trial-and-error, and it is possible that in a pub so well-known for its drinking, the dining has simply not yet had chance to mature and take equal importance.

But it certainly seems to be on its way – and may be further confirmed by a planned revamp of the famous terrace area, which  will include restaurant tables.

With outdoor dining in Chorlton such a rarity, there is little doubt this would be a runaway success.

Overall rating: 3/5
Décor: 4/5, Service: 3/5, Food: 3/5

The Horse And Jockey, 9 The Green, Chorlton, M21 9HS (0161 860 7794).