The Shurlock Inn,
The Street,
Shurlock Row
RG10 0PS
0118 934 9094
theshurlockinn.co.uk
LIFE is far from normal at the moment. With pubs and restaurants ordered to close their doors to walk-in customers, many are making the most of a bad situation and are offering a takeaway service.
One such pub is The Shurlock Inn, based in Shurlock Row, right at the northern end of the borough.
It is part of the Rare Breed Dining Group, which includes The Corn Stores close to Reading’s railway station and The Plough Inn in Cobham.
The aim is to bring London-quality dining to our area, with the passionate team championing British food, drink and hospitality.
If you had been able to visit the Inn in those pre-lockdown days, you’ll know that it is a charming 17th-century country pub. It’s run as a freehouse, and its current menu is a mixture of modern English dishes, hearty classics and weekly specials, all home-cooked with fresh local produce wherever possible.
The pub is also offering a food box scheme, in partnership with Wellocks, which usually supplies restaurants. People can choose from eight food boxes, including a Dairy Box, Cupboard and Pantry Box, Fresh Fruit Box and Sunday Lunch Box. Orders can be picked up the following day.
But to its takeaway menu: The Sherlock Inn has a variety of offerings to suit most palettes including a food, drink and steak DIY kit collection service.
They said: “We are committed to keeping our business operational and our staff busy, through challenging times, and you can now enjoy your favourite meals in the comfort of your front room.”
It takes orders for takeaways from 5pm to 9pm Wednesdays to Fridays, from 1pm to 9pm on Saturdays and noon to 7pm on Sundays. Food boxes are Tuesday to Friday from 1pm.
Customers place an order by email – hello@theshurlockinn.co.uk – customers get a reply confirming the approximate collection time and a payment link. It’s usually ready within 45 minutes, but the inn operates a staggered collection time to ensure safety of all.
The ordering process was seamless. I emailed my order over on Wednesday to ensure that we had a Sunday roast – The Shurlock Inn has a set amount of orders that they can take on any particular day.
To collect, you wait outside by an open door so the whole process is safe and contactless.
There is plenty of the menu: six main courses, salads, light bites, a children’s menu and a Sunday roast. For those enjoying their time at home, there’s also DIY options: a steak or a romantic one, fusing a starter, a main, dessert and wine.
The Shurlock Inn seems to have every option covered.
We reviewed two main courses, a children’s main and the DIY steak kit (£18.50): a 310g ribeye (11oz in old money) with a garlic butter sauce – you can choose your favourite.
The side dishes were a mixed leaf salad, new potatoes with thyme and garlic, and broccoli with garlic and chilli.
Instructions are given to how long to cook the steak for depending on your choice. While the steak was cooking I placed the potatoes with garlic and thyme in the oven and steamed the broccoli. The whole process took less than 20 minutes to cook and assemble, easy peasy.
While this was cooking I plated up the other meals and reheated them for a couple of minutes.
My husband praised the steak, as well as the chef: “It was delicious,” he told me. “The steak is so tender, I love the potatoes and the onion salad is lovely.”
The steakburger with ogleshield cheese (made with rich Jersey milk) in a brioche bun with skin-on chips and is a very reasonable £10.
The Shurlock Inn uses high quality beef in its chunky patties. Barbecue smoked, it got the thumbs up from my teenage son.
Also opting for a burger was my eight-year-old who chose
from
the children’s menu, a very reasonable £4.
For my main, I enjoyed the chicken Sunday roast (£14). It was scrumptious and served with cabbage, broccoli and carrots, with the crispiest of roast potatoes, a large Yorkshire pudding and a flavoursome gravy.
There was only one choice of dessert, Pain au chocolat bread and butter pudding with custard, £4 each. I want the recipe – totally delicious, it was demolished in seconds.
The Shurlock Inn has a fantastic set-up, making it extremely straight forward to order. With professional and friendly service and delicious quality food, this is the perfect lockdown treat.
CLAIRE WORSFOLD
