The Ship
tavern is situated down a small back alley behind Holborn station. The pub is a
small, old and pretty gloomy looking place. Sometimes first impressions are deceiving.
An ale
house has been situated on this sight since 1549, refreshing the locals and workers of Holborn for nearly 500
years. Catholics used to hold secret masses here during the reign of Henry
VIII, when being a Catholic was not in vogue. Maybe the Church would get more
people to mass if they again held the 6pm service in a pub. A thought.
As Holborn
is pretty empty and most of the shops and offices are closed at weekends, I’d
imagine this pub is pretty lifeless on Sundays.
The
downstairs dimly lit bar had two old geezers sitting at opposite ends of the
bar looking distantly into their beers. Great atmosphere.
We ventured
upstairs to the Oak Room restaurant. It wasn’t much better, but at least some
Japanese tourists were speaking to each other. But as we were both nursing some
bad hangovers from a night of Polish vodka and Chilean pisco sour drinking. The
small chit chat was a welcome.
The Sunday
roast menu is pretty good, we were tempted by the whole chicken (£20) to share,
but somehow it would have been a bit too much, and with the way we were feeling
it could have been the worst thing to have.
Pork or
Beef that was the question. I needed some hair of the dog to level out my
blood/sugar/alcohol level. So a pint of 1549 house ale was ordered whilst we
made the moist important decision of the day.
The ale
arrived in a tankard. I cannot remember the last time a pub, especially one in
the city serving beer in a tankard. Very old skool.
As with a
lot of pubs these days, the prices were a little on the higher side, but we
were in Holborn. (Roasts between £12 - £14).
My topside
of beef was well cooked and thinly sliced, and there was plenty of it. Amazing.
It was nice and juicy and had a good taste, although I don’t normally eat
topside as my roast, but it was pretty good.
The pork
came as two large slices of thickly cut belly, great crackling and well was
probably the tastiest piece of pork I’ve had in a long long time. Really bloody
good. We couldn’t finish one of the slies, and it made some great sandwiches
that night at home.
Both plates
came with the same accompaniments. They really do serve a good yorkie, large
crispy and damn tasty, a Yorkshire granny would have been proud of that. The
tatties were soft and fluffy with a slight crispy outer. The only downside was
the veg, a small portion of sautéed cabbage, a few carrot sticks and a small
floret of cauliflower. Where were my peas.
A couple of
other tables were occupied by the time we left, which on any other Sunday would
have made this an average place, but with the way we were feeling it was just
perfect. But Holborn at the weekend, you cannot really expect anything else.
I’d love to
return and try this place in the week, as they have a pie night every Tuesday.
A pie and a pint for £10. Can’t be bad. On Wednesdays is Moules night.
This had
been my first roast in a while and it was a bloody good one. If you are in the
area, I’d definitely give it a pop especially if there is a crowd of you, as
the atmosphere could be lacking. But the food and the staff do make up for
that.
