This is a tale of two McMullens, which I visited on different days for food and an accompanying drink. The first of the McMullens would classify as a theme pub and you can guess the theme from the name, The Cricketers (EN2 6QA). The pub is set just off from the main road with you having to walk down a small road/drive to get to it. You're straight away greeted with the sign saying LBW, (Lager, Beers and Wines) which gives away that a cricket theme awaits you. The pub is in a large detached house with a white picket fence around it. The doors are in the centre and as you walk in the large bar stretches out to either side of you. The keg beers are dispensed from metal taps, but bizzarely there is no branding or pump clips visible, and you have to look closely at the tapsto see the names engraved on.
To both sides of the bar there are tables and seating, and you can see this pub is majority food led. To the left the pub goes backwards and has small tables and the toilets. To the right are some large tables, and a raised area with some smaller tables. The pub operates on the principle of order at the bar and they deliver to your table. I went for the dirty chilli burger and as it was slightly difficult to read the keg beers I choose from the ale selection a pint of AK. I've drunk all the year round McMullens before, but am always unsure which I prefer, and now I've made a mental note it's not AK. It tasted very watery, as it perhaps should at only 3.7%.
Adorning the walls all over the pub were cricket related photos, drawings, caricatures and items. I did look at a few of them and some were mildly interesting. The majority of people at the people were dinning and I was lucky to get a table. The food didn't take too long to arrive but sadly it didn't impress. I had ordered the beef burger with chilli beef, but rather than put the chilli beef on top of the burger, it was underneath, which results in a soggy bun, and being unable to pick up the burger. So I had to resort to flipping it quickly and eating upside down, and clearing the mess on the plate with my cutlery. The food otherwise was ok, but overall the watery beer and soggy burger didn't hit the right spot.
My next McMullens pub meal was a few weeks later at The Plough (EN2 9DJ) on a Sunday. The name The Plough seems quite common amongst McMullen's pubs but I guess that comes from being in a rural area. I arrived at the pub around 1:30pm and it was buzzing with customers. Upon walking through the two glass doors you arrive at the small reservation desk who took my name and pointed me to the bar for waiting. This was appreciated as it permitted me to peruse the beers on offer. On keg there was Fosters, Strongbow, Guinness, Amstel, Peroni, Camden Hells and Aspalls. Whilst on Hand Pump they offered AK, Country, IPA and a guest beer from Rivertown - Imperial IPA. I obviously went for a pint of the Imperial IPA. Sadly the pint didn't live up to expectations. It was smooth and had a lovely head but it lacked any hop flavour at all.
The pub itself is a large country pub with a large car park outside and a big garden which includes a children's play area. It's situated right next to a number of Garden Centres so is popular all week long for lunches. The majority of the table seating is to the left of the bar where there is some seating inside the original bar. Towards the front the decor seems to be brick support walls with some decorative wood beams attached. Whilst towards the rear it comes across as a slightly rustic theme, with the odd trinket on the walls, including a birdcage, and part sanded painted walls. It wasn't too long before I was taken to my table which was in the conservatory. The conservatory looks out onto their garden, but is slightly different than expected as it has wood planks on the ceiling.
As it was Sunday, it's customary to order a Sunday Roast, and this I did, though the table service. I went for the roast pork, and it certainly was a big dish with a perfect yorkshire, lots of veg, cauliflower cheese (which I'm not a huge fan of) and the lovely roasties. Now my normal pub photography isn't great, so I'm not going to include any food photography as it certainly won't do the food any justice. During the course of my meal I ordered a half pint of the McMullen's Original IPA and this was served in a tulip glass. This beer wasn't hoppy either, but as it didn't advertise itself as 'imperial' I wasn't concerned. I assumed McMullen's pubs use sparklers as their beers always have beautiful heads and fantastic lacing. Though I do feel at both venues that their ales were slightly lacking in flavour/taste.
Sadly the half pint turned out to be my desert as I was too full to even have a go at anything on their menu. The full service, the quality of the food and the light and not noisy surroundings of The Plough certainly trumped the Cricketers, but as a rural pub their mainly geared up to do food, so it's no surprise they excel in this. The Plough is defintely an establishment I would like to go back to again on a week day evening to see how busy they are, and whether their normal food menu hits the same level as their Sunday.
Brugse Zot (De Halve Maan) - 6.0% | Bottle 330ml
