"Last night, we found ourselves in town, seeing off a Spanish
friend who is moving home shortly. When dinner options came
up, something English seemed appropriate, since it wont be
easily accessible in Spain. Strangely enough, after deciding
on English food, we realised that this wasnt easily accessible
in England, nevermind Spain. Anyway, after some thinking,
we popped into Tom's Chop House for a drink, on the way to
Sam's for dinner.
So that we could try a few things, we opted for Ox Tongue
and also Fish Cake starters to share, and mains of Steak &
Kidney Pudding, Devilled Kidneys and Corned Beef Hash.
My personal choice of the pudding, was to be honest, one of
the best I've ever had. Real hand made suet pastry, with a
rich filling of meat. Whilst the filling was a touch dry,
it came with a mini boat of gravy to give you the choice of
how saucy you wanted the dish. The chips were brilliantly
done too. I can eat a fair bit, but this was a massive pudding,
and I was well filled. The other mains were also very
nice, with the hash deserving special mention. I've
not had many variants, but this was definately the best Ive
had, and a far cry from the saucy, semi soup like hash which
you could dip some bread in, which I was raised on as a kid.
Desserts of Eton Mess, Sticky Toffee Pudding and Cherry &
Almond Tart were also fine. The tart was a little overcooked,
but other than this, all very nice.
Another Trusted Reviewer has said that that place is expensive
(below), but to be honest £90 for 8 courses, bread and
a bottle of nice Spanish wine, is good value.
Also, claims of Holland's making better puddings, really is
ludicrous. I like Hollands pies, what Mancunian doesnt, in
fact I had them this week, but they are mass produced, and
it shows. Sure, they cost a quid, but how does that make them
better than paying £12 for the pudding and chips at
Sams. Is a Ford better than a Mercedes just because it's cheaper?
£30 per head to eat out in town is totally acceptable.
Anyway, I'd whole heartedly suggest Sams for anybody
who wants a traditionally English feeling meal, in
a world where our own regional cuisines have pretty much died
a death unless you got to a countryside pub. Even
the toilets had pull chains! It's warming,
filling, slightly stodgy, very tasty, and brings back childhood
memories left right and centre. Give it a go instead
of a now traditionally 'English', Indian or Chinese next weekend,
especially now the very traditional weather is making a come
back." -
Chris Handley, Salford 9/8/08 (visited on a friday evening)
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