What with one thing and another, His Nibs and I found ourselves booking a table for two for Sunday Lunch – a very rare occurrence! We’ve visited the Galleon Steakhouse and Restaurant in Chesterfield before, and had a lovely meal, but we haven’t had a Sunday roast there; clearly, that situation needed rectifying.
The Galleon team serve Sunday lunch from Noon until 3pm, though there is also the regular menu available if you don’t fancy a good old British roast – weirdo! All starters are priced at £6, though we skipped those in case we had room for a pudding after our main course. On this particular day, the meat selection was Pork, Turkey and Beef; Beef is priced at £16, the roast of the day is £14, or the three-meat option is available for £17 – no prizes for guessing which option we chose!
I love the open kitchen at The Galleon, and our table gave us a cracking view of Chef and his team as they scurried around to fulfil the raft of orders that we coming in from the get-go. The roasts all come with creamy Mash, Duck-fat roasted potatoes, a slab of Sage and Onion Stuffing, homemade Yorkshire Pudding, roasted Root Vegetables, Seasonal Greens and a jug of pan Gravy. His Nibs and I spied Cauliflower Cheese on the extras list for £3.50, so we ordered a portion of that, too.
It wasn’t long before a couple of the serving team were bringing our fully-loaded plates over and, after the obligatory photos, we both hungrily tucked in. The Turkey was lovely and moist, as was the pork; now, I’m a bit fussy when it comes to Pork, but I was very happy with the generous slices that got served to me. The Beef was tender, though I would’ve liked a bit more of it on my plate if I’m being brutal; it wasn’t the biggest slice by any mark, and it was certainly tasty enough that I could’ve eaten more.
Whole, roast Carrots were comfortingly soft in the middle and their natural sweetness had been intensified by the roasting process, as had the Parsnip half that was also on our plates. The mash was indeed beautifully creamy, a real dollop of luxury that had The Man and me smiling; equally fab were the large duck-fat roasties: these beauts were nicely crispy on the outside with inners that had that gorgeous ‘oven-done jacket spud’ taste to them. Our seasonal greens were just-crunchy whole Green Beans and baby leaves of Curly Kale, both of which had that glorious bouncy flavour to them.
No surprise though, when I say that it was the Cauliflower Cheese that had me and Him Indoors cooing with happiness! Served in a separate skillet, this minx had a delightfully golden top that hid an impossibly unctuous sauce. When we dug in with the spoon, thick ribbons of melted cheese stretched out and we busied ourselves to get every last bit onto our plates, along with florets of the nicely cooked Cauliflower. This was a very yummy side dish and a decent portion too, though it doesn’t look it at first glance.
The homemade Yorkshire Puddings were massive, there’s no other way to describe them. Their outers were that perfect balance of being crispy without being hard to cut into, and the flavour of the batter mix was lovely as well – happy days! Mummy Bird has always used the roasting juices to pimp her gravy and Chef at The Galleon does too, so you can see the pieces of meat-candy and the glisten of fat within the gravy as it sits in the jug. Flavour-wise, you get a superb depth to the taste profile of the gravy when you use the pan liquid and, although it’s only a small detail, it makes a huge difference to the gustatory experience.
His Nibs and I both cleared our plates, save for a couple of bits of fat that had been at the periphery of the slices, so I was satiated. The Man decided he was going to go the whole hog though, and ordered the Galleon Chocolate Wreck for dessert; all puds are priced at £6.
Chocoholics will be very happy with this particular dessert: boozy Chocolate Mousse, slabs of Chocolate Brownie and warm Chocolate Tart are heaped with whole and crumbled Cadbury Flake, streams of Chocolate Sauce, fresh Strawberry halves, and pieces of freeze-dried Strawberry. If it’s indulgence you’re after, look no further! Throughout our meal, the team checked that we were happy with our food and we were asked if we’d wanted sauces with our meats and if we were ok for drinks. Everything was done with a smile, and nothing had been too much trouble.
Hot Wings given to this great Chesterfield venue. Visit the website www.thegalleonrestaurant.co.uk to view the main menu and the Sunday one, and call 01246 559065 to book your table.
