The Cross Hands - Brockworth

Friday 3rd July 2009

If a pub is packed, you know they’re doing something right. And in these credit crunch times, value for money is everything, which is why it’s hard to beat a good old carvery.

The Cross Hands at Brockworth is a Toby Carvery pub that consistently delivers good quality and pulls in the customers.

They’re expert at dishing up a good British roast and having been there several times for the Sunday carvery, we decided to sample what’s on offer for summer evenings during the week.

It’s a large building, pleasantly traditional with plenty of seating, whether you are just a cosy twosome or a large family party. The best surprise is the terrace at the back where you can sit and watch cricket being played in the field behind and take in stunning views of Crickley Hill and Birdlip.

The evening menu still includes the carvery – beef, gammon and turkey (on Sundays, there’s pork as well) with a choice of eight vegetables. But they’re also featuring dishes from around the world.

On Mondays, it’s BBQ chicken night, Tuesdays is Oriental night, Wednesdays and Thursdays are curry nights while Friday is a beef special and Saturday a classic lamb night.

You can have just one dish, the carvery or mix it up and have a bit of everything. And you can help yourself and eat as much as you want.

We chose a curry night and on offer were chicken makhani, piri piri beef and mushroom and spinach curry, with rice, bhajis, mini poppadoms, raita and mango chutney.

It was a hard decision – carvery or curry, or both? The roast meat is always really tender – the beef and gammon are particularly good, but the curry looked inviting too. Perhaps a Yorkshire pudding, which are giant sized, filled with something spicy? Or some mushroom and spinach curry with roast potatoes?

And that’s the beauty of it – you can have whatever you want, however you want and then go up for more.

Among the curries, the chicken makhani was mild and creamy, while the mushroom and spinach had more bite and the piri piri was definitely for spice fans. We ended up with some weird concoctions – one of our party had cabbage and cauliflower cheese with chicken curry.

But the carvery is still hard to resist. So after we had sampled the curries, we went back for gammon and beef with all the trimmings. The freshly cooked vegetables include broccoli, carrots, courgettes and tomatoes, cauliflower cheese, peas and roast potatoes.

Then there are all sorts of sauces, gravy, stuffing – everything to finish off your roast. If you want something completely different, there are salads and fish choices at £7.

You can have starters and puds too although you pay extra for those. We started with Thai king prawns, £3.80 and roast garlic mushrooms, £3.40.

Portions are generous here and the mushrooms came in a large dish with a roast garlic and Italian cheese sauce, topped with toasted breadcrumbs. It was different from the usual, tasty and very filling.

The prawns were a lighter option, with three skewers and a sweet chilli dip. The salad, though, looked a bit tired.

Puds include old favourites like treacle sponge, £3.25, apple crumble, £3.20 and chocolate fudge cake, £3.40. We chose a traditional ice cream sundae, £2.50, and raspberry and white chocolate pavlova, £3.45. Both were large portions, so be warned. Chocolate flakes and butterscotch sauce jazzed up the ice cream and the pavlova was a lovely calorie-laden treat.

Drinks are good value too, with a small glass of wine costing from £2 and a bottle of Aussie Chardonnay or Shiraz, £8.25. If you’re watching the pennies, you won’t do better. Joyce Matthews