We had our friends here last weekend. They live down south so we don’t get to see each other toooften. We went for a meal on Saturday evening at Browns Lane in the centre of Loughborough. I’ve eaten there quite a few times over the last 5 or so years, both in the evening and at lunch and have always had a fantastic experience. Having arrived shortly before our 8pm reservation time, we fought our way through the crowd to the bar. The bar area was heaving and very loud, at one point including a gang of student ‘pub golfers’ which is very unusual for Browns Lane. We had a drink and the waitress told us she’d come and get us when our table was ready.
Once sat down, we could still hear the loud noise from downstairs – I commented on this and the waitress agreed with me that it was unusual for the place to be so ‘raucous’. Anyway, we ordered our meals and got started on a delicious bottle of Chilean pinot noir to help distract us.
Starters:
These were all lovely. The carpaccio was delicious and the portion size was good too. Jenn and I had the mussels from the special board. Served with a herb crust, this was a first for me. The mussels were juicy and cooked well. Paul’s scallops were a little under seasoned but cooked perfectly.
Carpaccio of beef with a rocket salad, drizzled with horseradish & parmesan shavings £ 7.50
Green lipped mussels with a herb crust – £6.50
Seared scallops served on crispy leeks drizzled in white wine cream sauce topped with crispy pancetta £ 7.50
Mains:
Again, Jenn and I had the same meal – pork belly from the special board. It was a huge chunk of meat but sadly the top wasn’t crisped properly and as a result, too chewy. Pauls lamb was slightly over cooked and the hubby’s steak was nice but nothing special (and hard to cut without a steak knife offered). All in all, we were a little disappointing.
Peppered sirloin steak with a creamy bourbon sauce and chive mash£ 17.00
From the Specials – Belly Pork with rosti and apple dipping sauce £14.00
Roasted rump of lamb with a shallot & honey glaze served with dauphinoise potatoes & a red wine, honey jus £17.00
The bill, including tip, came to £140.00 – this was for 2 courses each and 2 bottles of wine. It’s certainly not the cheapest place to eat in town but its always felt a bit special to me and worth the money. This time around, I was disappointed. The noisy bar and less than perfect food let it down but I’m not put off and will be back to give it a second chance.
