The Anchor in Gunthorpe: “A riverside retreat with real feasts” — restaurant review
Elevated favourites in an elegant setting...
There are so many brilliant pubs and bars around Nottinghamshire — and The Anchor in Gunthorpe is one of the newest and chicest in the county.
We were invited to try its food offering, after 16 years of it being shut. We stayed for two hours, soaking in its atmosphere, trying a range of food from its menu, and putting its service to the test.
If you’re looking for restaurants to visit around Nottingham and would love to go to a refined pub, The Anchor in Gunthorpe is worth checking out. For more guides and reviews, subscribe to The Notts Edit to receive our articles in your inbox.
The Anchor in Gunthorpe — a riverside retreat with real feasts
By Eve Smallman
A lot can change in 16 years. Styles change, foods change, tastes change. Trends can come and go, but quality pub food is one of those things that never goes out of fashion. That being said, pub favourites and a touch of modernity pair together very well.
The Anchor in Gunthorpe knows all about that. It has been taken over by The Reddington Pub Company, which also run The Old Vol in Caythorpe (which has one of my favourite al fresco dining spots around Nottingham) and The Reindeer at Hoveringham. It also re-opened Tom Browns on the same weekend. This meant that even before I stepped in, I knew that I was going to be treated to chic yet classic fare.
The interior is bright and breezy, with natural colours and textures, fresh and dried plants, and even a little train running around the ceiling of the dining space. I visited on a sunny day when the beer garden was abuzz and natural light flooded the space, but I can imagine on a rainy day that it would be wonderfully cosy. I instantly felt at home.
The menu has a variety of elevated crowd-pleasers, such as the simplicity burger with sticky onions and truffle mayo (£17), pinwheel herb sausage with whipped mash and buttered greens (£17), and 8oz rump heart steak with triple-cooked chips and caesar salad (£27).
It does cater mostly to meat eaters, but there are options for some dishes to be made veggie or gluten-free. I think this could go further on this and provide more alternatives — I’m vegetarian and had two choices for mains. That being said, I respect that it knows what it wants to offer and does this well, so I won’t complain too much.
I went with my partner Sam and we both had a starter — K.F.C for him (£9) and goat’s cheese arancini (£9) for me. These were both well-portioned and were bursting with flavour. I did have one arancini ball, but it was big and I wouldn’t have had room for mains or dessert if I had two.
From here, I went for the veggie version of the simplicity burger, while Sam got stuck into the steak. I liked that the veggie burger wasn’t just a meat-alternative, with lentils giving it a pleasantly different taste and texture. Both of us had triple-cooked chips, which were wonderfully chunky. The steak’s salad came with a caesar dressing, but this could have been swapped with a more zingy dressing to cut through the richness.
I finished everything off with a sticky toffee pudding (£9) — my measure for quality in a pub. It was a good square of sponge (but not too thick) and came with hot salted caramel sauce and a massive dollop of vanilla ice cream. The scoop was even bigger than the pudding itself and could have been a little smaller — but I still finished it all anyway.
Throughout all the dishes, the food was cooked just right and the flavours shone. It is on the higher-end of the pub food price range, but you do get robust portions and quality food. The service was also smooth, speedy, and smiling — which was especially impressive when visiting on its booked-out opening weekend.
If you’re searching for a picturesque pub meal with food as enticing as its setting, this riverside retreat has real feasts. It will delight locals and is sure to draw in those from the county and beyond.
anchorgunthorpe.com
@theanchorgunthorpe
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