The Folly was typically heaving as we arrived by boat. Having pre-ordered the 3 course Christmas lunch special we were shown to our suitably decorated table - quite close to a roaring log burner to dry our wet sailing clothes!
Most of us chose the King Prawn Cocktail whilst one had the Chicken Liver Parfait. These were well presented and there was plenty to eat. For our main course again most of us chose to stick with the traditional Hand Carved Roast Turkey and all the trimmings. There was lashings of turkey and we were heartily stuffed by the time we finished! One of the group had Barbary Duck Breast with Morello cherry sauce. All I can say is that it must have been a much bigger duck than I normally see on our local pond - the breast was over an inch thick! For desert we ranged from the traditional Christmas pub,to a Cherry and White Chocolate Torte whilst I had Vanilla Cream profiteroles with dark Belgian chocolate sauce - very nice!
Before the meal we each had a pint of beer/cider, and with the meal had two bottles of the house Merlot. Our 3 course set menu was £15.95 and after adding the alcohol we each paid just under £25 which we all agreed was terrific value.
Part of the Wayside Inns chain but a well run establishment with a wide selection of hot and cold food available all day. Spacious bar and outside terrace perched right on the banks of the river Medina with Live music and popular with boating people. Excellent ales are served and a friendly river taxi will ferry you back if you've arrived by boat.
Many a fantastic weekend in this all round great pub. There's something for everyone here, a real entertaining place to be. Food is excellent, the staff are friendly and it all very laid back. We normally get there by boat, landing at their own jetty, but it can be accessed by land too.
The menu changes regularly and is very reasonably priced. The food really is excellent and there is a great variety. You vegetarians will not have to suffer the tedium of cheese omelettes - try the spinach parcels with a balsamic glaze. For the omnivores there is plenty to choose, from Aberdeen Angus in red wine to chicken baked with a dusting of garlic and paprika. The puddings are of unusually high quality too, and this is one location where Matt and Cat usually break from tradition and have a dessert. The traditional rhubarb crumble and custard is sublime (and, unlike the pubgrub chains, not microwaved).
A wilfully characterful feature is the table names - each table is named after a boat. No doubt this was not deliberately designed to confuse the customer, but it can embarrass them into saying things like "I'm sitting on the Lively Lady of Cowes". Luckily, the bar staff are wise to this game and there is a chart of the tables pinned up next to the till, where you can mutely point at your location if you are too slow to have memorised your table name, or, indeed, if you can't pronounce it. Look out for Matt and Cat's favourite table, "Boss Cat"!
A great place for an intimate winter meal or a sunny lunchtime snack with a spectacular view of the Medina estuary.
