The Stanborough Beefeater in Welwyn Garden City is part of a pub-style chain who, in their own words, “have been serving up perfectly grilled steak and great family favourites” since a whole decade before I was born. I have visited Beefeaters in other locations and can’t remember ever being disappointed with the food.
We arrived a couple of minutes early for our booking but were greeted and shown to our table immediately by a staff member with a friendly smile. My other half is well known to many of the staff which could explain the level of service; but they’re also known for being a bit of a wind-up merchant so it could have gone either way.
We ordered drinks while we all tried to decide which of the wide variety of menu items we were going to spend our weekly “treat dinner” money on. With two fussy teenagers within our party it could have been comprehendible that we would struggle to find something to please everyone but once they understood they could ask for certain things (cheese) to be left out of their burger, making the choices was fairly painless.
Personally I opted for the Salt and Pepper Calamari to start, followed by the Smothered Chicken Melt as my main. With onion rings on the side, obviously.
I only first ventured to try calamari about six months ago, having been rather sceptical about the idea of it previously, and had only had it twice in the interim. Once it was lovely, the second time rather leathery. The bowlful I was presented with at the Stanborough fell well and truly into the same camp as the first time I’d tried it. Melted in the mouth and tasting absolutely delicious.
The empty starter plates cleared away we didn’t have long to wait for the main meals to be brought over. Generously portioned is an understatement with Beefeaters from my experience, and the Stanborough is no different.
My chicken was cooked perfectly, if I had to pick fault with anything I’d say I there wasn’t enough cheese melted over its bacon topping. But that’s probably more of a personal preference. The chips were crunchy and fluffy at the same time (the magic of triple-cooking I’m assuming) and the onion rings managed to avoid being stringy like sometimes found in other pub chains.
Throughout the evening the staff were polite and friendly, checking in with us at regular intervals without feeling like they were either trying to rush us or sucking up for a sizeable tip. The restaurant was not particularly busy during our visit (mid-week, mid-evening) and the atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable.
For a family friendly, reasonably priced meal out I would definitely recommend the Stanborough.
