The Abbotsford

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses:
   £12 (lunch)
   £12 (evening meal)
• House wine: £8.35 per bottle

• High point: Sausage and mash not to be missed
• Low point: Disappointing vegetarian options
• Food served: Sun-Thu noon-3pm, 5.30-9.30pm; Fri/Sat noon-3pm, 5.30-10pm
• Bar open: Mon-Sat 11am-11pm; Sun 12.30-11pm
• Private dining: Up to 36 covers
• Open since: 1979

The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 is now in the shops.

This review is from the 2007 edition.

This historic Rose Street pub has recently had an overhaul. The original, beautifully elaborate bar has been maintained and long wooden tables and red leather-covered benches line the surprisingly light and airy space. Upstairs the tired 70s dining room has been transformed into a trendier eatery that is soon to offer a restaurant-style menu with daily specials. You can order from the pub menu in the bar and upstairs in the restaurant. It consists principally of conventional pub dishes, and it is certainly best to stick to hearty choices, perhaps skipping over the weaker starters altogether in favour of brawnier main courses. The sausage and mash is transformed by a perfect mustard mash and the home-made steak and Guinness pie is highly recommended. Vegetarians may not be over-awed by pasta or a lacklustre Caesar salad, leaving a brie and cranberry sandwich as the only other option. The desserts are few and fairly standard, but they do the traditional sweet quite well, as is seen in the tangy peach and strawberry crumble. This is a pub with attentive service and a charming interior, and it is to be hoped that the new restaurant menu will reflect the traditional food they do so well.