Harry Hotspur, Shrewsbury
Rating *** Russell Roberts says cheers to Chinese food at a typical estate boozer.
says cheers to Chinese food at a typical estate boozer.
The Harry Hotspur pub is named after one of English history's most notorious rebels. The Northumberland soldier met an unfortunate end at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403, not far from where the current pub stands.
Despite the rebels' defeat to King Henry IV's army, Hotspur's memory still lives on and the battle was even immortalised in a play by the great William Shakespeare.
So, being named after such an illustrious figure in English history you might expect the pub to be serving up traditional pub food right?
Wrong. The Harry Hotspur has apparently been gaining a reputation as a place to enjoy great Chinese food since being taken over a little while ago.
The proprietor Rose Ma has brought her Eastern cooking skills to the pub and now offers a restaurant and takeaway service, as well as the traditional bar for those just wanting a quite drink.
On first impression myself and fiancée Alison were not quite sure what to make of the place. Pulling up in the car park it appeared like any normal pub. Once inside there was not much to signal anything unusual, aside from a few naff Chinese-style decorations in the window.
We walked through to the bar and order point where we got ourselves a drink and picked up a menu to look through.
It was a Friday night and the pub was fairly busy with a mixture of people sitting at tables and enjoying a meal while others were seated or standing near the bar sipping at a drink after a hard day at work.
It was reassuring to see there was an extensive choice of dishes from chow mein to chop suey and even Thai style on the menu.
For those not so fond of oriental food there was also a sizeable range of European dishes to choose from including roast chicken, gammon and fish and chips.
Luckily we are both big fans of Chinese food so it was just a question of what to pick. For the starter we decided to order a mixed platter for two which included spare ribs, prawn toast and spring rolls.
It arrived fairly quickly from the kitchen and was a generous portion with plenty for us to share. The ribs were delicious and coated in a sticky but flavoursome sauce and the spring rolls tasted crunchy and fresh.
But then we encountered a problem. A miscommunication between the member of the bar staff who took our order and the kitchen meant that our main course arrived just a few minutes after we received our starter.
The staff member apologised for the mishap and, while we weren't overly happy about the situation, we thought the mains would stay warm long enough for us to at least make good headway into the starter.
Thankfully they did but we didn't get much of a breather between the courses and that was unfortunate because it undoubtedly led to us having to leave quite a bit of food at the end because we felt so full.
The main courses were both large portions. I picked the classic favourite of chicken chow mein which came with soft noodles.
Alison, meanwhile, opted for the sweet and sour chicken balls which came with rice.
Both were well cooked and thoroughly enjoyable. There was no way we could have fitted in a dessert and we could have even benefitted from a doggy bag to take home the food we couldn't finish to warm up at home the following day.
The Harry Hotspur appears to have found a market for serving up good Chinese food from the confines of a traditional pub.
It's no coincidence that the pubs that have managed to survive the worst recession in years have had to offer more than a simple pint of ale and a glass of wine.
The Harry Hotspur has successfully diversified from the age old British pub and has a business model for the 21st century which should help ensure its future.
Overall I thought it delivered great tasting Chinese food at reasonable prices and I would happily go back for a meal or a takeaway.
There are also set meals available and discounts for party bookings, which offer good value.
ADDRESS
Harry Hotspur, Harlescott Lane, Shrewsbury, SY1 3AT
Tel: (01743) 449386
MENU SAMPLE
STARTERS
Spare Ribs in sweet & sour sauce £5.20
Mussels with Szechuan or black bean sauce £3.50
Wan Tun Soup £2.30
MAIN COURSES
Kung Po Chicken £5.40
Special Curry (including boiled rice or chips) £6.40
Roast Duck with plum sauce or lemon sauce £6.50
DESSERTS
Banana Fritter £2.50
SERVICE
Friendly but a little chaotic on our visit
ATMOSPHERE
Relaxed
DISABLED FACILITIES
Disabled access available including toilets
