Starters - Menu of the month
The Rose & Crown, Market Place, Warwick.
WHAT'S ON OFFER: There are dishes on offer all day here, from breakfast through to dinner. The breakfast offer begins at 8am and the dishes on offer include toast & butter (£1.10), bacon or sausage sarnie (£2.50), and continental breakfast (£4.50). Starters for lunch include crab & sweetcorn wontons (£5), devilled whitebait with saffron aïoli (£4.75) and potted duck with toasted brioche (£5.50).
Also on offer is an either/or section where you can have a selection of dishes as a starter or main. Some of these include: seared tuna and wasabislaw (£6 starter/£11.50 main); risotto of the week; Spanish bean and red chard salad and vegetable crisps; calamari, spiced lentils and leaves; and smoked chicken and chilli tagliatelle. There is also an impressive mains section which features smoked haddock and prawn fishcake with tomato salsa (£8.75), sausage of the week and mash of the week (£8.50), pork cutlet, apple and sage croquettes, French beans (£11), 21-day dry-aged ribeye steak, horseradish and lemon butter or Béarnaise sauce (£13), and braised neck of lamb, polenta cake and Mediterranean vegetables (£11.50) and pan-fried sea bass, artichokes and sauté potatoes (£13.50).
Also on offer is a deli board which you can make up yourself from a wide choice of items, including cheese, salami, chorizo, crayfish tails, crudités, Aussie black olives, artichokes and hummus. Or for £6.50, the kitchen will make you up a selection on a charcuterie, fish, cheese or antipasti board.
STYLE: The pub has a more formal dining area, which is painted a roasted red, with plenty of mirrors, flowers, topiary plants and decorative jars of olives. The spacious main bar area is a mix of sofas, low tables and high tables. Cool without being too cool that your gran couldn't pop in for a coffee.
RECOMMENDED: The monkfish is superb, really fresh and was well prepared and so was the neck of lamb - the polenta cake is fab and could be a dish of its own. Also the side order of new potato salad - creamy and plenty of it - a real steal at £2.50.
