MY pub spy experience this time round was an interesting one.

As I walked into the Maple Leaf on Canada Way I was met with a racket of two big TVs in a large room with a pool table and a bar. After ordering a drink from a very friendly barmaid I was relieved to find out there was another room behind this one, which was a lot quieter and much more suited for dining.

However the first room seemed to have the hallmarks of a much loved community pub, which I’m sure is buzzing with life in the evenings, with sports showing on the screens, punters crowding around the pool table and maybe even a few having a game of darts. There was a board up advertising for darts players to form a team.

The pub even has a pub pooch pawing around the place. He was kept mainly behind the bar though and away from us while we were eating and not to mention very well behaved. As a dog owner, my position on dog friendly pubs is that it doesn’t really bother me as long as the dogs are under control.

There seemed to be a decent selection of beers and other drinks and very reasonably priced.

Now on to the food, and I must say I was very impressed by not only the extremely generous portions but the quality and value for money.

Everything was beautifully cooked especially the garlic mash and my fellow diner’s fish pie had lovely chunks of cod and haddock and a puff pastry lid. This meal only cost £9.50 which I think is very reasonable.

I had a quorn with onion and white wine sauce with a side of veg and mash. It was a pleasant change from the template vegetarian options I am usually limited to and the white wine sauce was delicious. The meal really filled me up and the vegetables; green beans, carrots and cauliflower were cooked very nicely. This meal was just £8.95, the most reasonably priced vegetarian meal I have had in a while and considering the quality I was rather impressed.

There is a good selection on the menu, and if you are looking to really save some pennies there is a 2 meals for £10 section which includes sausage and mash, battered fillet of cod and quarter pounder cheese burger with chips. If the quality of the food I had is anything to go by, this is definitely worth a go.

The only issue was that it took them a while to turn the hearing on in the back room, meaning it was quite cold while were were browsing the menu, but we were the only people in there, and it warmed up eventually.

It also took quite a while for the food to come out.

The decor is a bit of a muddle with a graffiti style paint covered skittle alley one side of the back room and the rest of it being covered in the typical no frills old pub style with a few random massive cacti in one window sill. I’ve seen worse looking rooms and the skittle alley does give it a certain quirky-ness.

The final bill was only £21.15, and I cannot complain about that. This isn’t the sort of place I would normally hang out but I would give this pub a go, especially if you are looking for value for money. The staff were also friendly and seemed like a good laugh.

Scores

Ambiance 4/9

Food 8/10

Staff 9/10

Decor 5/10

Drink 8/10

Cost 10/10

Overall 8/10