OPENING HOURS AND CONTACT INFORMATION
Monday to Saturday 11.30am to 11.00pm
Sunday 12.00am to 10.30pm
Last meal order times: the Carvery is open up to 9pm, the
main restaurant will accept orders up to 10pm. These times were confirmed by
the restaurant manager when we visited but see our comment below about the
choice of meals available if you visit late in the evening.
If you are planning a visit early in the day (the Porridge Pot opens at
11. 30 Monday to Saturday) then be aware that the Carvery normally starts
serving at around 12.15. That's fine even if you arrive at 12.00 because by
the time you settle in and order a drink the Carvery will be ready.
Official Website:
Click
here
Telephone Number: 08442 435389
Map: See below.
BACKGROUND
The Porridge Pot is part of the Great British Carvery which in turn is part
of the Orchid Group. The Group is a very large company which runs nearly 300
pubs and restaurants in the UK. They do not aim to compete with budget pub
groups on price rather they want to compete on quality and value for money.
The Orchid Group began life in mid 2006 so it is still a relative newcomer
to the market.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
An immediately obvious advantage for the Porridge Pot is its location, less
then two minutes drive from junction 15 of the M40. It is also very close to
two large, nearby hotels, the Holiday Express and the Hilton, the porridge
Pot is in easy walking distance from both hotels.
The car parking arrangements grab your attention before you even enter
the restaurant. There is a barrier at the entrance where you need to take a
ticket to get into the car park. Then at the end of your meal get the ticket
stamped at the bar and in theory you should be able to exit the car park
without paying. When we tried, the machine at the exit wanted to charge us
£2.00 for dining at the Porridge Pot but a quick press on the "help" button
resulted in the barrier being raised at no cost.
Having passed the car parking problems though and entering the restaurant,
all is fine. The building has a very high ceiling giving a very pleasant
impression of space and airiness.
The interior isn't old by any means but
the ceiling beams and the wood panelled walls at one end make a very
pleasing atmosphere. The interior decor is top quality new-build with
considerable thought having been put into making the area appealing and
attractive.
INTERIOR DECOR AND ATMOSPHERE
We have already discussed the decor in the section above but we would add to
it that the tables and chairs look good, they are set out well and the whole
area is neat, tidy and clean. The atmosphere is also pleasing with low
volume, unobtrusive background music. The majority of the interior is given
over to dining tables and chairs but at the far end of the room there is a
bar area with two wide screen TV so a visit for just a drink is quite
acceptable.
THE MENU
First off, the carvery menu is a bit vague, advertised are roast beef,
turkey, belly pork, gammon, lamb and homemade pie of the day. The website
however says the selection changes daily so it's not clear exactly which
roasts / pie will be available on any one day. When we visited the carvery
options were turkey, stuffed belly of pork, beef and pie of the day.
The roasts and pie come with
all the trimmings at £7.95 Monday to Saturday or £8.95 on a Sunday (and bank
holidays). Well,
those were the website advertised prices but we were very pleased to find
that the price of the weekday carvery was reduced to £5.95. See below for
the quality of the food but initially that appears to be excellent value.
There isn't anything remarkable on the menu although we were impressed
that the steaks were 21 day aged, a bit longer than normal. Probably the
most unusual offering was rabbit suet pudding, not something we would
choose but some would jump at the chance. Many, but by no means all, of the
meat and poultry dishes have the Red
Tractor logo against them on the menu.
The menu does seem to be on the pretentious side with rather meaningless
local references such as Shropshire Blue cream sauce (would Lancashire Blue
cream sauce really be any worse or better?), blossom honey and others.
Having said that, almost all tastes will find something to suit on this
menu.
THE FOOD
We must report as we find and the food we were served was top quality for
the prices charged. As our summary of review sites later in this article
indicates, not everyone agrees with our opinion.
We tasted first the roast
beef from the carvery and it was delicious, tender and with lots of flavour.
The accompanying Yorkshire pudding was light and crisp, just as it should be.
Interestingly we were also offered (and took) the stuffing which normally
accompanies turkey - very tasty. The choice of vegetables was good and they
were well-cooked, neither over done nor under-cooked. So the carvery option gets our
full approval and at only £5.95 this was exceptional value.
We also sampled the pan fried sea bass fillet and this was a delight. The
fish was cooked to perfection, no ifs or buts, this fish was cooked
perfectly, congratulations to the chef. It was served with noodles, beans,
pak choi, lots of crisp sweet red peppers and topped with crispy seaweed. I
promise you that CookUK is totally independent and I also promise you that
the food we were served was top quality, well above the prices charged. This
sea bass dish was delicious.
The difference between our opinion of the food and some of the views
expressed on other review sites may be due, in some part at least, to the
timing of our visit. We arrived at about 12.20 on a Saturday afternoon and
there were only two other people in the Porridge Pot
at that time. The carvery food had been freshly laid out. So all in all
maybe we had the best of the food and the complete attention of the chef to
pan fry our sea bass.
SERVICE
Service was fine, we were greeted at the door and shown to our table without
delay. Our order for drinks was promptly taken and we were then left to
choose from the menu. Our order for roast beef and sea bass was taken
without fuss. After a reasonable wait of about ten minutes we were told to
collect the carvery meal and when that was done our main meal from the
kitchen was served so that we both ate at the same time. Good timing.
Soon after we finished our meal we were asked if we wanted a sweet which
we declined. The bill arrived five minutes or so later and we left for the
car park. In common with many people we then realised that we had forgotten
to have our car park ticket validated so we returned to the restaurant! The
ticket was validated and we left impressed with the service.
PRICES
Prices for the Carvery
are very good value given the quality of the food served. From Monday to
Saturday the prices are advertised on the Porridge Pot as being £6.95 but at
the time of our visit the price was even lower at £5.95.
The prices for the
kitchen food were not quite as good but we reckon they are still very good
value. Our sea bass was one of the more expensive items on the menu and cost
£9.50.
NEARBY ALTERNATIVES
Many people who visit the Porridge Pot are staying at either the nearby
Holiday Inn or Hilton Hotels and they choose the Porridge Pot because it in
walking distance. For those who want to walk from the hotel there really is
no easily reachable alternative. For those who can drive a few miles then
head for the centre of Warwick where there is a huge choice of restaurants,
pubs and cafes.
If you are looking for lunch then forget the pubs and restaurants, head
straight for
Wylies Tearooms and we guarantee the food will be delicious and the
experience and ambience a real treat. For an evening meal which is great
value and extremely enjoyable we highly recommend the
Cape
of Good Hope pub in Warwick. Read our full list of Warwickshire pubs,
cafes and restaurants here.
OPINIONS FROM OTHER REVIEW SITES
We trawled the internet for the opinions of others who have written reviews
about the Porridge Pot and we found lots, we read well over 200 in total.
For more details on how we interpret these reviews
click here. The overall impression of the reviews was confusing with some people
liking the restaurant and others hating it. One thing is for sure, many of
the complaints have much to do with whatever events are happening at the
adjacent Holiday Inn Express Hotel and also the Hilton Hotel just a short
walk away. It seems the Porridge Pot staff can quickly become overwhelmed if
they receive a sudden influx of visitors from the hotel.
One particular complaint was the car parking system. When you arrive at
the Porridge Pot by car you need to take a ticket from the machine to get
in. Then, before you leave you need to get the ticket stamped in the hotel
but this is obviously not clear to many people and the cause of annoyance
when they get to the car park exit.
One point made by several reviewers was the good value offered to over
50s - they have a Diamond Club for these members. Two courses for £7.50 if
you are in the club, which is definitely cheap. Slow and not too good
service does seem to also be a recurring theme amongst the reviews.
A definite criticism of those who arrived around 8 in the evening (the
Carvery is advertised as serving food up to 9) is that the choice of meat is
reduced from four choices to often only two. Bear this in mind if you plan
to visit from 7.30 onwards. Gluten free options seem to be non-existent at any
time of the day.
The overall impression from the reviews is that you may get decent food and service at the Porridge
Pot but this is by no means guaranteed.
Article by David Marks.
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