I met up with one of my lovely bubbly sisters, Beth, while I was in London recently and checked out one pub (not sister) that was available on a discount card. Punch Tavern in Fleet Street rang a bell so that is where we aimed for. It looked like a wonderfully ornate old London pub on the outside and there was a table by the front door with a variety of gin bottles on it. They must have had word that I was coming their way. Beth and I were given a choice of tables and got a large one by the fire where I didn’t have to worry about too many items on the table. We are quite animated talkers and sometimes table items suffer the consequences.
The server was delightful, not too intrusive, and offered us tap water immediately. Big points. There was a fair range of food on the menu, not huge but enough. Pies seemed to be their thing, indeed there was mention of an award winning pie. There were also nearly FIFTY varieties of gin, who knew, it almost seemed like a challenge but I was getting the train and may have ended up in Brighton by mistake (not for the first time sadly) so I just ordered the one and Beth had a glass of Pinot Noir.
          
She ordered Quinoa, halloumi, roast pepper salad £6.5. This was Beths starter and it was interesting. I have never been a huge fan of halloumi, it can be rubbery and is like the tofu of the cheese world in that it seems to pick up the flavours of the food it is snuggied up with. The quinoa was lovely with chopped tomato and onion and a very fresh taste.
Wild Mushrooms on toast £ 6.5. This was my choice for starter but I wasnt thrilled. The sauce was very salty and had made the toast soggy. However it was rescued by some of Beths refreshing quinoa salad which saved the dish.
              
            This is Beth, my younger sister ( we are two of six siblings ) and it was a pleasure to spend time with her. She is a town mouse and I am a country mouse, there are no shops within walking distance of my house in Padworth and we get excited when we hear a police car.
This is Beth leaving the pub. She doesn’t actually have a bike but had a very traumatic incident with a pack of squirrels when she was very young. The effect of this is that she has to wear a helmet at all times and turn her coat into a squirrel defending tent over her head. It is sad but she is considering getting professional help for it. She even makes a funny squirrel face at times of stress. Poor lass but very very brave.