Alfie’s birthday meal at The Crooked Billet

I actually can’t believe I’ve not blogged about The Crooked Billet before. It’s our nicest local and we’ve probably been there more times than any other pub. It’s been run by several people, and I have to say the current owners are the nicest – we visited previously visited for a drink and loved the atmosphere – so I decided to book a table for Alfie’s birthday.

When I made the reservation, I noted that it was a family meal for a birthday and the staff were fantastic throughout – especially our waitress Lacey, who was so good with Alfie too. We sat in the front dining room, away from the bar, but where there’s quite a nice vibe. I find the tables out the back a lot quieter and out-the-way. Being a Sunday, there was a different menu to the rest of the week – as well as roast dinners, there were other options, including the legendary Billet burger.

Ash ordered the burger, while the rest of us went for roast dinners – with the options including shoulder of pork, topside of beef and roast chicken. I think between us, we had all three! I chose the roast pork, which was served with the tastiest and crunchiest crackling, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, cauliflower cheese and medley of vegetables (carrots, green beans and savoy cabbage, I think). It was a good size portion too, not so much food that I felt overly full, but just enough. The pork was flavoursome and melt-in-the-mouth, the gravy not too salty, and the vegetables all tender. Now the weather is getting colder, it’s good to know there’s a decent local roast!

However, I was more excited about dessert and as soon as I saw the menu, my eyes immediately went to (one of) my favourite puddings – Basque cheesecake. It was divine and I could have eaten another slice, as it wasn’t too rich and certainly wasn’t stodgy. The forest fruit sorbet complemented it so well, and I loved the combination.

But even more exciting than that was Alfie’s pudding. He ordered the kids’ chocolate brownie and ice cream, and out came two squares of brownie with candles in. The staff sang ‘Happy Birthday’, and he was so made up! It was such a nice touch. The brownie portions too, were huge – and he struggled to eat it all. I tried a bit but couldn’t even finish it off. I still managed to try some of the crumble too – both Ash and Rob ordered it – apple and rhubarb. The crumble top was delicious… I’m such a dessert fiend!

The food was great, and no-one had any complaints. A lovely occasion and wonderful company. We returned home for hot drinks (and another round of games), but it will definitely not be as long until our next visit (I don’t think we ever ate at the Crooked Billet under the previous owners but remember the ones before that). On a Wednesday, there’s a steak night deal, with 50% off, and wine offers also available… definitely a bit of me!

The Crooked Billet also has two sister pubs – The French Horn at Steppingley and The Three Tuns at Biddenham – for those that are Bedfordshire-based.

Love, Lucy xx