The Victoria, Ickleford Road

Team Rating:

Maurice's Review

The Vic is what I call (sorry Miranda) a traditional pub. It’s a great classic looking building the kind that would sit well in Albert Square. The kind of place that makes you feel welcome. A good wholesome bunch of patrons, and clearly some regulars (evening Olivia). The other point I would like to make about The Vic, is the effort they put into it. I have never seen any other pub that tries so hard to come up with unique and fun ways to keep their punters entertained. From running photography lessons, to burlesque nights, to cheese and wine tasting, to traditional pub quizzes. For this I take my hat of to them, anyway on with the food review. On this particular night, it was "Monday Supper Club" basically it’s time for the chef to use up all those unwanted ingredients, and a time you can get a 3 course meal for £13.

Starter: The deviled whitebait

Ok I love whitebait, I mean I love white bait. I have hunted high and low supermarkets; fish mongers everywhere and can't get this stuff for love or money. So whenever on the menu it’s a given. Presentation was good and the fish was lovely and crispy in its light batter. The devil (i.e. the heat) started off ok, and the aioli was a refreshing accompaniment, but by the time I was finished the heat was a little too much. However the others loved it so it was just my taste. Overall very enjoyable.

Main: Beer battered fish goujons and chips

A nice and well presented dish, fish and chips is fish and chips at the end of the day. However the chips were very rustic with their skin on and a great taste. Fish was nice and moist in a crispy batter. A simple dish cooked very well.

Desert: double chocolate brownie and vanilla ice cream stack

Sorry but this is where it went a little wrong for me. The brownie was lovely and sticky, and the ice cream and sauce was excellent. The problem here was quantity. No not in a I am a fat git and need more, but in a where was it way? Ok the pic looks good, but come on the menu said brownie first then ice cream, to be honest it was a wafer thin brownie base, big ice cream and another wafer thin brownie. However it was yummy!

My final thoughts overall, the food in the Vic is great, very tasty and a good variety from your standard pub grub to the posher nosh. Value for money excellent for the Supper Club, all this for £13. However given my desert would have been £4.75 on its own I would be interested to see how I felt at full price. But a good night had by all, thanks Vic.
Service and venue: 4/5
Food and drink: 4/5
Value for money: 4/5

Harry's Review

 

I must confess that the Vic is a pub I use reasonably frequently, but please be assured that my review will be completely unbiased. Or will it? Well you can judge…

The Vic is a nice pub with a good atmosphere, a Greene King house. IPA and Abbott are always on draft with a couple of guest beers, some of which are GK, some of which may be independent. The beer is well kept and the IPA at £2.95 a pint is well worth it.

If you’re looking to eat in the evening you need to check your nights. Food is only routinely served on Monday (supper club) and Friday (fish and chips) in the evenings, though it is served every lunchtime with varied menus generally until 3 pm, except Sunday when it served to 6 pm. Food is also served for some events including the monthly pie nights, monthly quiz nights and some other events e.g. St George’s day, Valentine’s day etc.

We decided to attend the Monday night supper club. The idea is that the supper club uses food leftover from the weekend served at a competitive price. Hence the menu is limited, generally with four main dishes one of which will be veggie.

For starter I went for the devilled whitebait as did both my partners in crime, Maurice and Mick – one of them will provide a pic. Unfortunately there was a too much of the devil in the dish and for me it was a bit overspiced which masked the flavor of the fish. A shame as it was otherwise beautifully cooked.

For main I went for the roast pork loin with potato, leek and onion hash, cauliflower cheese and green beans. I was informed that the kitchen had run out of pork loin, but could replace with roast beef or roast ham and I was happy to have the latter. Again the dish was well cooked and very enjoyable.

For pud I went for the ginger sponge. Very tasty, but a rather small portion. I mentioned the cost of the supper club. The prices are extremely good value for money as mains ranging between about £6.50 to £8 and deals of 2 courses for £10 or 3 for £13. You really could not get food of this quality for this price anywhere else that I have been in Hitchin and service was good throughout. Well worth a visit if you fancy eating out a Monday night, booking is advisable as the supper club can get quite busy.
Service and venue: 4.5/5
Food and drink: 3.5/5
Value for money: 5/5

Mick's Review

Starters: The deviled whitebait

Nicely presented with lettuce and a spicy dip, this was my first attempt at Whitebait and was pleasantly surprised this was nice and the spicy dip left a nice lasting taste in the palate.

Main: Roast Beef with salad and dipping gravy in a ciabatta roll

The roast potatoes were very nice and tasteful along with the dipping gravy (a new thing to me) the Roast Beef in the ciabatta roll was also very tasty although the last bit of beef was a bit chewy, but did not spoil my enjoyment.

Dessert: Pear and Apple Crumble and Ice Cream

This was also nicely presented, hot and tasty and nice texture and flavours .

Service and venue: 4/5
Food and drink: 3.5/5
Value for money: 5/5