And you will be pleased to note that the burger hunt has continued.
As I said before The Broad Chare is the first pub in Terry Laybourne's successful string of ventures. I had spent the day writing about pork scratchings for work and I had a craving for some - the other half's office is just by The Broad Chare so we thought we'd go for a quick after work drink. Whilst supping on my pint of Trashy Blonde the man next to us violently attacked a homely looking steak and kidney pie with the sort of dead stare an account must have after a hard day of looking at sums and I knew at that point I wasn't going home for potatoes and chorizo as planned.
Luckily for us we managed to book in for a table in half an hours time. In the mean time I snacked on a few pieces of their Pork Crackling with Bramley Apple Sauce, £2.50. I say a few not for a vague casual description but because we literally got about 4 pieces of scratching. Yes a bar snack and yes obviously made fresh and with high quality pork but I did however expect a larger portion for my £2.50, the brambly apple sauce they were served with was delicious but we ran out of crackling before we could eat most of it.
The upstairs dining area was larger than I was expecting and didn't feel cramped, we got a cute little wooden table by one of the deep set windows (it's a shame The Broad Chare faces the way it does as we got a lovely few of the back end of a Travelodge) and ordered a bottle of red (cheapest on the menu at £16 a bottle) and surveyed the nicely limited menu.
HEY I ORDERED THE BURGER, ARE YOU SURPRISED?
The other half got the Calves Liver, Bacon and Crispy Onions, £14.50 which was cooked so it was pink in the middle, the mash was wonderfully creamy, bacon crunch but not dry and the scattering of fried onions added a great contrast of texture to the tender liver. There was also savoy cabbage and lovely rich gravy (his knowledgeable guess is it was made with port?). Again a nice sized portion and he was content, although moaned I didn't let him try my burger.
![]() |
Calves Liver, Bacon and Crispy Onions, The Broad Chare, £14.50 |
As with anywhere in the 21 Group the service was impeccable, friendly, well timed and unintrusive. The dining room was about 3/4 full when we arrived, mostly middle aged, most looking like they had come straight from work or after a day christmas shopping. Hint for any students reading, if your parents are visiting any time soon, take them to The Broad Chare.
Our bill at the end came to £45.60 including wine and service meaning The Broad Chare isn't somewhere you can afford to go every time the feeling takes you, but makes for a wonderful treat every now and then. For a spontaneous after work dinner it was above and beyond what I was expecting on a Thursday night and lived up to all the expectations their scotch eggs had given me.