White Horse Hotel,
68 Clooney Road,
Campsie,
Derry,
BT47 3PA.
028 7186 0606
[ whitehorsehotel.bizOpens in new window ]
I ALWAYS thought my mother would sense it, that she'd know if I'd skipped Mass. She wouldn't even need to ask which priest was saying it, or what I thought of St Paul's letter to the Heptathletes that morning. She'd just know.
And so I didn't, at least not until towards the end of my first term away at university, the Sunday after news of Natalie Wood's death was announced. Pure coincidence, by the way: I didn't suddenly lose my faith because Natalie Wood had bought the farm. Even then, with my mother over 120 miles away, I was pretty sure she could sense some disturbance in the force.
Keep it to yourselves, but I did it again last Sunday. I didn't plan it that way. In fact, I'd planned pretty much the opposite: Mass, then a swim, then lunch.
To be fair to me, I did manage lunch.
Not that I made it myself. My brother, daughter, and I went to the White Horse Hotel, as we wanted a roast with all the trimmings and without all the hassle.
I've never been to the restaurant, even though I'm a member of the hotel gym and I'm here four times a week. Okay, three. Well, two, then. Fine, now and then – happy?
It's a bright, fresh space, open, warm, and comfortable, and it feels modern, too, without being in the least achingly cutting edge.
We arrived not long after 12.30pm, and it was quiet. It soon began to fill up, though, and I wouldn't be surprised if we were the only first-timers.
The menu offers three courses for £24. Apart from the roast meats on offer, there's one fish dish and one vegetarian option, as well as a sirloin steak that comes with a £10 supplement. As we only wanted two courses, our bill was adjusted with no fuss.
My brother and daughter didn't hesitate to go for the turkey and ham option, reasoning two meats are always better than one. The turkey was juicy and tender, and went nicely with the thick slices of salty ham, and they both wolfed down everything on the plate.
I'm a sucker for lamb shank, and am always amazed it was long considered such an inferior cut that it was often thrown away. And like so many poor man's dishes, cooked right it's wonderful.
My shank was cooked perfectly. Seriously, one touch of the knife and the meat just eased from the bone. Sweet, soft, melting, it was absolutely delicious.
I will always try and scan the dishes heading to other tables, to see what looks good before I order, or, when it's too late to change, to regret what it was I chose.
I saw a beautiful plate of pan-fried cod going past, but I wouldn't have swapped my lamb for anything.
The meat, then, in all three cases, was very good indeed. The accompanying trimmings, however, were a bit of a mixed bag. We all enjoyed the mash, my daughter especially, pronouncing it amazing. I wouldn't go that far, but it was smooth and well-seasoned, certainly.
The gravy was good too, full of flavour. The roast potato was less impressive. It wasn't crunchy enough on the outside and it wasn't soft enough in the middle. The mixed vegetables had plenty of flavour, but were too soft and lacked texture.
Lack of texture was also a problem with my lemon meringue pie, which had a soft pastry base and lacked a crisp topping. The lemon filling, however, was delicious, just the right blend of sweet and sharp. My brother's apple crumble was pretty much faultless, however. The crumble topping carried a lovely bite, and the pastry case was beautifully crisp, a perfect contrast to the sweet, gooey apple and the silky, smooth custard.
While by no means perfect, this was, nevertheless, a very enjoyable, beautifully presented meal with some real highlights, not the least of which was the kindness shown by one of the servers in hunting down the toffee yoghurt requested by my daughter.
I may not be back every Sunday, but this won't be my last visit. I over-tipped, incidentally, possibly out of guilt. An indulgence doesn't come for free.
THE BILL
Child's roast turkey and ham - £10.00
Roast turkey and ham - £17.00
Lamb shank - £17.00
Lemon meringue pie - £3.50
Apple crumble - £3.50
Toffee yoghurt – free
Total: £51.00
