The Warren
Forest Road
Wokingham
RG40 5SB
01344 304446
www.thewarrenwokingham.co.uk
The Warren in Wokingham has undergone a stunning refurbishment and re-opened its doors Saturday.
I went along for a preview last Wednesday evening and to sample the new menu.
The pub has had a significant investment and created a modern, stylish and contemporary feel, expanding its outdoor garden area and its car park, making it more accessible for guests.
General Manager Majka has been in the industry for 16 years, and with the Warren team for
two-and-a-half years and said: “The Warren is a hugely popular pub and provides a hub for the local community so we’re really excited to be part of the team as it begins its next chapter.”
She is warm, welcoming, very knowledgeable about the menu and a pleasure to speak with.
There is a brand new seasonal menu featuring mouth-watering, freshly prepared dishes including an exciting new range of desserts and a vegan menu.
There were four of us dining, we didn’t all have starters but not because there wasn’t plenty to choose from.
Mark went for the Thyme-Roasted Portobello mushrooms in Cropwell Bishop sauce with rustic toast (V) £6.95 this was served on a wooden platter within a small silver frying pan. Jan and I both really fancied the Scallops of the day.
Our waitress, Emily, was really attentive and made sure that we weren’t left without drinks.
After a short break to let our starters go down the mains arrived, David choose the Chargrilled Lamb Koftas these were served with goats curd, plum tomato’s, roasted red pepper, cucumber and mint salad with a lavish bread £14.95, Mark couldn’t resist the Fillet Steak (not something I really serve at home).
This was a 7oz fillet with an ale-glazed shallot tart topped with Cropwell Bishop custard, Stilton and walnut crumb and twice cooked chunky chips (£23.95).
Jan and I opted for the fish: Jan selected the Pan-fried Sea bass fillets with parmentier potatoes, pancetta, olives, spinach and white wine veloute (£17.95) and the Salmon won me over with the chorizo mash (love chorizo but never tried it in mash before) this was served with broccoli which has to be my favourite vegetable and a bouillabaisse sauce (£15.50).
The servings were ample and we didn’t really need to have puddings but with a fantastic selection on offer we indulged.
The Warren offers a house sharer which is what I went for.
This is great for a family it offers a selection of four of the desserts Chocolate brownie, this was a little too rich for me but if you’re a chocolate lover this will definitely be a big hit, baked vanilla cheesecake, mango & meringue mess and bourbon vanilla ice cream cookie sandwich (£11.95) great to have a little taste of each of these and the portion of each on the plate was not at all stingy.
All-in-all a really great venue to share a romantic meal for two, a friends’ night out or big family gathering. If you don’t fancy cooking for Christmas give them a call they can take all the hassle away with a delicious four-course meal for £79.95.
For more details, visit www.thewarrenwokingham.co.uk
Claire Nash
