Tanglewood, Malton Road (A64), York (From York Press)

Tanglewood, Malton Road (A64), York

12:01pm Saturday 11th July 2009

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Simon Ritchie and family visit a country pub on the busy A64.

THE Tanglewood on the A64 just outside of York is one of those places that you pass on the way to the east coast, but never seem to get the time on the way back to pop in.

So we decided to make a special effort and go there one Saturday tea-time, promising our children that they could play on the outdoor climbing frames and slides. We arrived on a hot and humid day, so the main doors were wide open to let in some fresh air, which was fine, but that also meant we heard the constant drone of traffic from the A64.

The Tanglewood is a sprawling “country” pub which, until a couple of years ago, was part of the Brewer’s Fayre stable and it still has that chain restaurant feel about it; lots of photographs, prints, pottery, log fireplace – to try to give it that homely feel.

It has a separate dining area, although it seems you can eat anywhere, including outside.

Things did not get off to a great start. There was no grapefruit juice or pineapple juice and there was a delay in getting our alternative fresh orange juice.

The menu says all meals are cooked to order so there may be a slight wait, but the food will be worth it, it says.

But we found the dishes on offer were not that adventurous, pretty basic in fact.

And if you were a vegetarian and not fussed on red onions, then you had a bit of a problem.

Starters were chicken liver paté; red onion and goat’s cheese tart; prawn cocktail; homemade fishcakes and soup of the day, all pretty reasonably priced, from £3.45 to £4.95.

My wife Jayne decided to skip starters, but I tucked into my homemade fishcakes which, I have to admit were pretty good – haddock, mixed with creamy potatoes and leeks, wrapped in crunchy breadcrumbs and accompanied by a small side salad.

Main meals included ham and eggs; battered haddock; bangers and mash; red onion and Wensleydale parcel, pan-fried salmon and salad of the day which, for our visit, was smoked salmon and asparagus.

There was also a grill selection featuring steak, chicken and the Tanglewood burger as well as a range of pies.

I went for the rump steak which came with a mushroom, tomato and the Tanglewood special of chunky chips, which were the size of Chunky KitKats – unusual, but filling.

The steak was lean and cooked well-done, as I had requested, so I had no real complaints there. I had to ask for sauces and mustards, and they came in those annoying little plastic sachets which no matter how well you open them the contents go everywhere.

As a vegetarian, Jayne had only two choices and, not being a red onion fan, was forced to have the mushroom, leek and spinach pie which she found disappointing. She found it rather bland and the flaky pasty topping was a little soggy. It came with a rather uninspiring collection of courgettes, cauliflower and carrots.

The children’s meals for our two, Elliot and Zara, were extremely good value. Kids have the choice of homemade chicken nuggets, fish fingers, pizza fingers and veggie pasta (all £2.50). For desserts there is ice-cream – three scoops of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, or one of each – for 99p. Or there is the meal deal, which includes a Fruit Shoot drink, for £4.50.

Elliot and Zara both had the fresh chicken nuggets, which they enjoyed, but preferred the curly fries to the chunky chips.

The dessert menu included warm chocolate brownies, bread and butter pudding, sticky toffee pudding, crème bruelée and local Yorvale icecream – all reasonably priced at £3.50.

I received a rather generous portion of sticky toffee pudding, which was gooey in all the right places. The Yorvale ice-cream was pretty good too.

One thing that did niggle me was having to ask for the table to be cleared away before the puddings came. Something like that should be automatic. I also had to go and ask for sugar when Jayne’s cappuccino (£1.65) arrived.

The bill, with a few drinks, came to £41, which was pretty reasonable in these credit-crunch times. The food was okay, but more choice, particularly for vegetarians, would have been welcome.

Simon visited on Saturday, July 4, 2009

Tanglewood, Malton Road (A64), York.

Tel: 01904 468611

Fact file

Food: Hit and miss

Service: So so

Value: Good

Ambience: Farmhouse

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