What are you looking for from a Sunday lunch?
If it's world-beating food, Tynemouth's Gibraltar Rock might not be my first recommendation. But, then again, if you want an enjoyable way to spend your Sunday, atmosphere and setting might be just as important as the quality of the food itself.
If that's how you see things, the popular 'Gib Rock' could be the spot for you. When I headed down to check out their Sunday carvery I wasn't wowed by the food - but the setting was so stunning that, combined with a perfectly pleasant meal, it made for a very enjoyable afternoon.
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When I rang to book in a table for two, I was asked if I wanted to be upstairs or downstairs. Having not eaten here before, I said I didn't really mind. I was quickly told that upstairs was the right choice, and I'm certainly glad I listened to this advice.
The pub's upstairs room boasts a stunning picture window looking out over King Edward's Bay, which makes for one of the most stunning lunch settings I've seen anywhere in the world. Looking directly out at the perfectly-formed little bay, it was hard to think of anywhere I'd rather be.
The Sunday lunch menu consists of some popular pub grub and a full carvery, and in the interests of a thorough review we thought we'd best try both. When my companion's steak and ale pie arrived, I headed downstairs to load up my plate so we could eat at the same time.
The pie was a beautifully cooked pub classic which is worthy of praise, if you can overlook the fact that the menu committed what, for my money, is one of the worst restaurant crimes. I refer, of course, to describing as a pie something that is essentially a stew with a puff pastry hat.
I'm petty enough to have looked this up and can tell you that the Collins English Dictionary defines a pie as a 'baked food consisting of a sweet or savoury filling in a pastry-lined dish, often covered with a pastry crust' meaning, if you ask me, that the top is optional but without the sides it's simply not a pie.
That personal pet peeve aside, the food itself was very good. Studs of peppercorn added flavour to the light, flaky pastry, while the stew itself was rich and deep with meltingly soft meat. It came with extra gravy, a mound of fat chips which had clearly been cooked several times and benefitted from it, and, at my companion's request, an enjoyable dish of mushy peas.
The carvery was solid, if not exceptional. I often think the act of serving oneself from a carvery is more fun than the food itself, which is usually best fresh from the kitchen, and I'd say that was the case here. The food wasn't terrible, but it wasn't spectacular either.
There were some exceptions to this rule: carrots appeared, unusually, to have been cooked in vinegar and glazed with something sweet and were sharp and tangy. A ball of stuffing was suffused with a lovely herby flavour and the gammon was moist, salty and moreish.
But the roast beef was more grey than pink and lacked flavour, while the other vegetable options were uninspiring. The Yorkshire pudding was large but a little cardboard-y, while the all-important roast potatoes were pleasant but essentially had the texture of chips, as opposed to the crispness I look for in a roastie.
I did appreciate the carver's willingness to serve up a mixed plate of meats at no extra cost - while some carveries force you to choose, here you seem to get three slices of meat and can chose if you want one of each available, three of the same or another combination.
When it came to dessert, we enjoyed a chocolate sundae, which was exactly what you'd expect: ice cream, chocolate sauce - it's hard to go wrong.
Unfortunately, the apple crumble was a big disappointment. Unappetisingly heaped in a large bowl, I couldn't finish the huge portion of bland stewed apples and a crumble topping that, for some reason, had some unidentifiable red dust on top.
Disappointing ending aside, I enjoyed my visit to the Gibraltar Rock - I'd certainly come back for that view, although maybe I'll just have a drink.
The meal was good value: we paid £39, including a tip, for two courses for two, plus a pint and a soft drink. For a location like that, I'd probably expect to pay more.
Address: Gibraltar Rock, 2 East St, Tynemouth, North Shields NE30 4EB
Website: https://www.facebook.com/thegibrock/
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