The Man and I were on the A1, still riding our holiday high but preparing to have the inevitable come-down that evening – which we’d prepared for by saying that we were going to order-in pizza and look through the photos. Fate clearly had other ideas; the phone rang and it was our friend Shaun (a.k.a. Mr Tansley Carboot and Market himself) asking if we’d like to join him and fiancée, Emily, for a meal as they’d got a rare night off thanks (?!) to the bad weather forecast the next day.
Plans were hastily made and we were picked up at 7.30pm and whisked off to The Gate Inn at Tansley, a place we’ve been - and enjoyed - before but not visited for a while. The car park was pretty full when we pulled in and, walking through the door, was bustling with folks (including families with children); clearly The Gate Inn is still popular 😊.
We were at the bar quicker than Usain Bolt in his hey-day; the chaps had pints of Madri, I had a Whitley Neil Orange Gin and Tonic, and Emily had her signature Pinot Grigio. It’s a good job us ladies had some decorum and sipped our drinks, cos the blokes necked their first pint like they’d been marooned on a desert island for years! Once all glasses were refreshed, we made our way through to our table and got some Bread, Olives, Balsamic and Oil ordered to nibble at whilst we chatted and looked at the food menu.
None of us were bothered about starters, so we went straight for mains: Steak and Ale Pie for our friends (£15.95; both with chips, one with veg, the other with mushy peas, and both with gravy!), I had the Pan Seared Salmon Fillet with New Potatoes and Green Beans, and topped with Garlic Butter (£16.95) and His Nibs had the Fillet of Beef - marinated in Garlic, Thyme and Olive Oil - Hanging Kebab served with Flatbread, Greek ‘Slaw and Fries and Green Peppercorn Sauce (£21.50).
Our server was a lovely young lady who kept a discreet eye on our progress with the bread and accompaniments, and swiftly cleared them away, asking at the same time if we needed any more drinks. We weren’t waiting overly long for our mains and it was nice to have a team bring out the dishes all together, so that no-one was waiting.
The Steak and Ale Pies were massive slabs of deliciousness according to Emily and Shaun, with Emily remarking on how tasty the pastry was; one of her pet peeves is when a dish is described as a pie but only the top is pastry, so she was very happy to see a pastry bottom and top! Broccoli and Cauliflower florets came with this dish and both were cooked perfectly.
Even from across the table, I could see the pieces of Steak in a rich, ale-pimped sauce and I could certainly appreciate the aroma as it wafted its way over to me. There’s not much you can say about mushy peas, really, but the portion was a good size which kept Shaun happy 😊. Chunky chips had been cooked to an attractive gold colour and were absolutely grease-free, which allowed the spud to sparkle in the mouth!
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve eaten some ruddy stonking fish and seafood (fresh from local Scottish fishing boats) and the Salmon at The Gate Inn was pretty good to say it hadn’t been landed that day! Chef clearly knows what he’s doing with fish; the skin was wickedly crispy - yum - and the flesh moreishly soft and tender, its naturally fragrant taste coming through nicely. The New Potatoes were gently nutty, earthy and sweet in taste, harmonising with the Green Beans’ sweetly grassy tones. Thanks to the protein-rich fish, this was a very filling dish 😊.
His Nibs’ Hanging Kebab stole the show as most impressive dish, the huge chunks of Fillet Steak and Red Onion towering over the Flatbread, ‘Slaw and Chips! No word of a lie, I think there was a whole Fillet in this dish, cut into sizeable pieces; having eaten it, The Man Bird was minded to agree with my assessment 😊. The meat was lovely and tender, needing hardly any pressure from cutlery to cut it into more manageable, bite-size bits and it had a subtle hint of the marinade at its edge. Crunchy ‘slaw (that topped the soft Flatbread) added an injection of texture to this dish, although the Red Onion had some bite, too. Usually, The Man would’ve scoffed the whole dish but, thanks to the generous piece of Beef Fillet, he had to leave most of the Flatbread as his tummy was stuffed!
Whilst we’d been munching away our server had checked we were enjoying our meals and brought out some more drinks, and it was she who came to mine and Emily’s rescue when we asked if we could have French Martini’s instead of a dessert! The Bar Man hadn’t got the recipe to hand, but this young lady drinks them herself so she’d told him how to carry on – good gal 😊. The men-folk weren’t wanting pud either, so they had another pint in order not to be out-done!
I’m more than happy to give Hot Wings to this great Tansley restaurant again; we’d had a super experience from start to finish 😊. Oh, and it’s Dog friendly too, for those who want to visit with their furry friends! The Gate Inn is open 7 days a week: Sunday-Thursday Noon-11pm, Friday and Saturday Noon-Midnight; food is served until 8.45pm Monday-Saturday, and until 7.45pm on Sunday.
To book a table (which I would recommend due to it being busy, especially at weekends) give them a buzz on 01629 583838, or visit the website www.gatepub.co.uk
