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Editorial
The Bricklayers Arms - Sunday lunch in Watford's pocket of countryside
I suppose one of the advantages of living in Watford is its location. Just inside the M25 and on a rail link into London, venturing into our capital city requires little effort.
Much is made of this, though little is said of journeying in the opposite direction, where even less of a trip is required to find rolling hills, country pubs, farms, and sadly, little or no sat nav coverage.
However, keen to explore, I headed for the hills on Sunday, and found the Bricklayers Arms, Flaunden (www.bricklayersarms.com), was just the ticket for a much-needed dose of the countryside.
The 18 century interior, beams and and brickwork, make for a traditional pub visit, something that has been proven hard to come by in Watford.
The menu on a Sunday is busy to say the least, and while the main course selection list is fairly predictable, the starters and deserts go way beyond the average Sunday pub menu.
Home smoked fish, garlic sausage and mille feuille of avocado guacamole populate the starter list, and a choice of pork, lamb, beef, chicken, sea bass and risotto, follow.
One important message that the pub owner, Alvin Michaels is clearly keen to get across to his visitors is that the food served is sourced locally, and the menu even points out the specific farm on some occasions.
And what would a local country pub be without local country food, and of course, local ale? Well it wouldn’t be a country pub at all. The food is fairly priced, though it’s not cheap (mains range from £13.95 to £16.95). But if you eat in a pub that has won accolades such as Freehouse of the Year (The Great British Pub Award) as recently as 2008 or Dining Pub of the Year (Good Pub Guide), 2008 and 2009, you get what you pay for.
Although the staff can clearly handle the numbers well, Sunday afternoons do tend to get very busy at the Bricklayers Arms, so booking could be the sensible option.
