Stopping off at The Perch for lunch was like pulling up to a pub you would see on a postcard or in a romantic film. It was picturesque and almost surreal as we arrived we were very excited as this place has its own Vegan menu which is something we always like to see, even more so when we arrived and it was explained to us that they were extremely positively and well versed in the vegan menu, this is something I really loved about this place.
The staff were exceptional, there were super friendly, extremely knowledgeable and helpful and what I liked was that they genuinely wanted feedback from vegans as they explained that their vegan customer base has been on the rise and their menu is probably the reason for this.
Ordering the Roast Beetroot Burger, which was bold with flavour, served with tomato and lettuce in a wholegrain bun with piccalilli and triple cooked chips, this was a hearty plate of food. The bright purple of the beetroot made the patty so vibrant and the flavour with the piccalilli that was as colourful as it was necessary to this plate of ultimate colour and flavour! The chips were heavenly, I leant across the table to pinch quite a few of these because they were absolutely divine!
The special was a butternut squash and artichoke wellington, that was served with cabbage and a tomato sauce. Wellington is one of my favourite things, I actually bit into this with such eagerness that I burnt the roof of my mouth, this is an ongoing joke with my family as it has happened to me several times with roast potatoes, its part and parcel of being a piglet I suppose! This was worth burning my mouth for, the artichokes were soft and the butternut squash was creamy in this perfectly cooked pastry with spinach to seal the deal , the cabbage was a lovely addition to the texture spectrum on this plate and the tomato sauce with a different approach to perhaps the more typical gravy you would usually have with a Wellington but the richness of this sauce worked with this indulgent dish and I would eat it time and time again!
Believe it or not, I wasn’t going to order dessert, only because I had flu at the time, not for any other reason, however, thanks to the wonderful lady who was serving us, Sylvia, we were lead into temptation and this was totally worth it! Crumble and custard for me screams Autumn and Winter, it is the ultimate comfort food, so if you have flu, then crumble is the go to. It is the dish that will lift you up and allow you a burst of energy to eat it! What an amazing crumble, the topping was nutty and indulgent the plums were sweet with the perfect amount of tartness.
All in all, this was a wonderful meal in a beautiful pub and I will be visiting many times in the future I am sure.This is a great place if you fancy a ride out for some delicious food in a scenic setting.
Plant Based Piglet 