Pub review - the Lord Stan

The Lord Stanley on Camden Park Road has been my local since living in the shire and it's a good pub, on the whole. The Stan is a gastropub in the true sense of the term: an old-school boozer that serves great food in relaxed surrounding. Sure, they played with the idea of table service for a while, but they realised it did not work and scrapped it. Good on them. Other checkered experiences with it include the switch from San Miguel on tap to Kronenberg, but the move was explained to me by the senior managers as being based upon SM having increased in price so much from the manufacturer's side that the Stan would have had to sold it at a price unacceptable to all. Fair enough.

My other gripe with the Stan is its Sunday Roasts. They are good value at £12.50 but just do not compare in quality to the rest of their cooking. I think this is because the main kitchen, which is within the pub, only has hobs and grills - so I assume the roast has to be cooked upstairs at the start of the day and is then plated up in the 'show' kitchen during the day, resulting in sometimes over-cooked meat and always over done Yorkshire pudding.

But, order anything that they can cook in a pan and you'll be smiling. Lamb steaks, beef steaks, fish, cutlets all are delicious. Matched with a great wine list, and weekend lunch offers (spag bol for £6 last week), this pub is a winner. And having the kitchen in the middle of the pub is a great move - it gives it energy and buzz, and of course an amazing smell that gets you salivating.

And if this review is not enough to tempt you, try this: it's Chris Martin's (ColdPlay) favourite pub.

Peace.