The White Horse – it’s the pub on the course. Of course. #Blog

Victoria Hayes
1st March 2022

The White Horse on Chester Racecourse is too often overlooked in my opinion. Just a stroll from the very centre of Chester City Centre this gorgeous gastro pub is also one of the few places with great free car parking, good food, good beer and is child and dog friendly.

The White Horse – it’s the “pub on the course”.

Why does it get forgotten about? Well, I can only imagine its because people assume its only open on race days, it isn’t, it’s open all year around, or they just haven’t been told all about it properly. 

So, that’s what I will try to do.

What brought me to The White Horse this weekend?

This wasn’t a “paid review”. or even a requested one. I love rugby. I wanted to watch the England V. Wales game with my other half with some great food.  I’ll be honest, we attempted to book the better known sports bars in town first but those being full, my eye was caught by The White Horse’s Saturday sport offer of burger and a beer for £15 ( ON A SATURDAY!!!). I know the White Horse well and I booked easily online and off we went.

When you approach the race course and turn into the car park you are greeted by the biggest of smiles from the man in the ticket booth. Just tell him that you are headed for The White Horse and the barrier is lifted, no charge.  I have lived in Chester a very long time and been to the races so many times I have lost count, but I never tire of driving across and around our fabulous Roodee. What an amazing thing to have in a City Centre. Established in 1539, Chester is the oldest racecourse still in operation in the world. The OLDEST, in the WORLD. You can keep your fancy Ascot hats and your massive Aintree jumps. I am a Chester racecourse fan.

Chester Racecourse boasts 35 separate facilities, accommodating anything from two to 2,000 people, but today we park in the car park just outside the fabulous Pub on the Course. 

Through the White Pillared gate is a revelation, a large, well maintained outdoor space sweeps around the building with a whole host of different seating options, from outdoor sofas, to bench seats and Covid restrictions saw the arrival of their amazing huts for outdoor dining with heating and seating! The garden ends with their wonderful children’s play area.

I want to mention the children’s area particularly because as a parent I have found so few places which suit both children and grown ups. The White Horse has this, the rarest of combos. The bespoke, nautical themed play area is a nod towards the Racecourse’s history as is extremely popular amongst local families. With a large “pirate ship” and a small boat to explore, the children can really blow off some steam while their carers can watch them from nearby seating with a drink and a smile.

Throughout the year The White Horse run family friendly events, they team up with Mini Makery for Halloweens, half terms and so on to provide wonderful interactive events plus their Santa experience at Christmas is quite legendary. But I digress, back to this weekend. There was a mother and baby group outside with all their prams when we arrived and it reminded me to mention to you that the White Horse is very accessible for prams and Wheelchairs. everything is flat, well spaced out and ramped where needed.

The inside of the pub also strikes a tricky balance you don’t often see. Inside is light, airy and open but with an amazing cosy feel.  Yes, it can be both! The large glass panels and the conservatory section on the side offers light spaces and the two log burners surrounded by cosier chairs in the centre feel snug and warming. It’s almost easy to forget there is a bar in the middle. 

Table options suit all sizes of parties, from intimate tables for two to large parties. We both come from large families and The White Horse has always been on our list as a great place to bring together everyone with loads of space and a menu to suit all tastes.

That brings me nicely to the menu. As I mentioned, they were offering the burger and a beer deal, but not having eaten all day and being always fond of a starter we opted for two courses. I began with truffled mushrooms on sourdough. I love mushrooms, I love truffle and so it was my dream starter, paired with a massive gin and tonic. What more could a girl want to watch the rugby with?! Speaking of the rugby, we had been seated as we requested in sight of not one, but two screens showing the match so we could maintain the pretence of a romantic date facing each other and steadfastly watch the match over each other’s shoulders. Remembering that this is a pub on a racecourse of course the TVs are set so you can watch racing from pretty much anywhere in the room on a race day (there are even TVs outside for warmer days).

The other half had the sweet chilli beef as a starter. This was delicious too and would make a lovely lunch with a glass of wine with the girls one day and has been noted in my book for future use. The beef was crisp, the sauce not too over powering and a wonderful selection of colourful salad underneath made it very tempting to keep stealing off his plate despite my own lovely starter.

Those of you who read my reviews regularly will know that I maintain a generally consistent positive attitude to the places I review. If it’s bad, its not really my job to tell you about it. That’s the venue’s job to sort out and not my place to publicise any venue’s struggles. However, I will not lie and say everything at any place is perfect.

Hospitality is difficult, difficult mistress and not all things run smoothly at all times. For me, it’s always more about the way a venue handles the inevitable hiccups than the hiccups themselves.

Here’s why I bring this up now. While we were eating our starters, a number of large parties arrived. When lots of people order at once it will naturally slow a kitchen down and there was quite a wait for our mains. The White Horse handled this perfectly, with open, honest communication and we, at no point, felt ignored or forgotten and when the mains arrived, they were worth the wait. 

The other half, always keen on a deal went for the burger but there were three options of burger available on the deal/ Rather than opting for the classic steak burger (which I’ve had a few times at the White Horse and it’s always a good bet!), he chose the Sumac spiced chicken burger and enjoyed every bite. He also ordered a side of cheesy garlic flatbread. He didn’t do this just because he is always incredibly hungry…although he is.. but because The White Horse do wonderful flatbreads and pizzas. Another thing the kids love when we bring them. In the summer they serve pizzas from their outside kitchen too, so no time away from that fabulous play area. 

I went for a “grown up” main of braised beef, mash and vegetables and this was gorgeous. Massively filling the huge portion of melt in the mouth beef. was tough to tackle while watching the rugby (pun intended) but I thoroughly enjoyed it and the veg was cooked perfectly with just the right crunch.

Too full for dessert and satisfied by both food and score line, we enjoyed just sitting and enjoying the atmosphere and people watching. The staff were marvellous, juggling the requirements of 3 birthday cakes to be presented to 3 different tables within ten minutes. Quite the feat of competent service.

The White Horse is a gem, nestled in the warm embrace of Chester Racecourse, its an all rounder. Any time of year, any type of group, any occasion.

Find out more on their website and you can also use their online booking service. Home – The White Horse (thewhitehorsechester.co.uk)

This review was written by a member of Taste Cheshire’s team who visited on their personal time and paid for the meal from their own pocket. Whilst The White Horse are a Taste Cheshire member they did not request or pay for this review. All opinions in this piece are entirely are own, if don’t believe us, or even if you do, we urge you to try it for yourself.