Lemoni at The Bull Barkham
Barkham Road
Barkham RG41 4TL
thebullbarkham.lemoniuk.com
0118 976 2816
THE BULL at Barkham is a familiar sight for many of us, given its prime location on the Barkham Road.
It’s a great country pub that happens to be rather close to Wokingham.
And, in normal times – roll on April 12 – it is a charming spot with a great beer garden.
It has changed hands and is now run by the team behind Lemoni.
If the name sounds familiar, it’s because they are the team that runs The Jekyll and Hyde pub in Hook and, a little further afield, The Rising Sun in Winchester.
It also has a branch at The Riverside in Reading’s Oracle shopping centre.
During Lockdown, the team at The Bull wanted to ensure that residents could still enjoy their offerings.
The main change since their takeover is to the menu, which now includes traditional Greek dishes as well as Thai and English choices. Quite simply, the best of all worlds.
The menu includes an eclectic selection including Thai curries, including a massaman (slow cooked lamb or chicken with potatoes, fried onion, cashew nuts and served with jasmine rice) for £12.95, a 10oz sirloin steak with a Greek salad and pita bread on the side for £19.90 and a beefburger (£11.95).
Greek options include a Marinated Chicken Fillet Skewer served with pita bread, baby potatoes, Greek salad and tzataiki (£14.90).
There are also traditional Sunday roasts from £14.90, that come with Yorkshire pudding.
Children’s meals are available too.
Ordering is simple: log on to their website, take your pick and follow the instructions. You can place your order before it opens too.
At the moment, this is from 5.15pm to 8.15pm Monday to Thursdays, from noon to 8.15pm on Fridays, 12.15pm to 8.15pm on Saturdays and from 10.15am to 5.45pm on Sundays.
Payment is taken when you pick up.
Of course, things will change as lockdown eases and pubs are allowed to welcome people back in: garden first (don’t let it rain) and indoors later. We’ll drink to that.
My family had the opportunity to sample their takeaway service on a Saturday night. The online pre-ordering process was seamless and straightforward, with a plentiful offering of dishes to tingle the tastebuds of every member of my household.
We decided to opt for a mix of Thai starters. We began with Duck Spring Rolls (£6), Chicken Satay Skewers (£6.95), which were, tender marinated chicken with satay sauce and a real hit with all the family. The Tempura prawns with sweet chilli sauce (£7.75) were a delight.
My main course came from the Thai menu: a Katsu Curry (£14.95). This was a breaded Chicken breast encased in breadcrumbs with curry sauce, accompanied with steamed veg and Jasmine rice.
My son decided to go for the English/Greek fusion, trying the aforementioned steak grilled to his liking. He wanted a peppercorn sauce and all the trimmings.
This would satisfy even the biggest of appetites and he certainly didn’t say he was still hungry afterwards.
My husband’s choice was Chicken with Cashew Nuts (£14.95), with mixed peppers, carrots, spring onion, chilli paste and served with Jasmine Rice.
My daughter chose her top favourite Chicken Pad Thai (£11.95). It came with Bean sprouts, carrots and spring onion. She was certainly not disappointed.
We were too full to try puddings, but there is a mixture including – what else? – baklava (£6.50). These are traditional Greek sweet pastries with caramelised pistachios and walnuts, based on an authentic recipe.
As a country, we might be grounded at the moment, but who needs to fly when Greece can come to you?
It’s smashing … the food, that is, not the plates.
