The Faulkner – King of the “Notting Hoole” pubs #Review
Gaile Wundke
3rd November 2016
The Faulkner is located in the heart of the now very trendy Hoole, which has once again been shortlisted for Britain’s Best High Street, in fact, at the time of writing, I do believe it leads the way in the competition and rightly so!
Back in the 80’s I worked for the local Health Authority which was based not far from The Faulkner in Lightfoot Street, on the site of the long gone City Hospital. Any occasion which merited a celebration found us trooping off to The Faulkner, which in those days was a very different offering, a dark, dingy pub with no character or warmth and we would sit nursing our ‘halves of cider’ trying to drum up a feeling of festivity, often with little success!!
So, forward wind to 2016 and things are very, very different indeed. On the night we visited, a Tuesday where many places would be struggling to get customers through the doors, The Faulkner was practically full – at 6.45pm!! We walked in to find a pub full of warmth and a genuine feel good atmosphere, the once cheerless décor is now bright, vibrant and modern and every glass behind the bar looked as though it had been polished to within an inch of its life!
We were shown to our seats and given menus, Tuesday night is 2-4-1 pizza night and it was obvious from the surrounding tables that this is an extremely popular offer and the hand stretched, stone baked pizzas that we saw coming out of the kitchen looked excellent – they even do takeaways! However, tempted as we were to sample the pizzas, for the purposes of the review we decided that we would do so on a return visit and instead chose from the main menu.
To start we opted for Slow Braised Belly Pork with a Chilli and Mango Salsa & Red Wine Jus (£8.95) and the Tapas Sharing Board – Pan fried Chorizo, Meatballs, Calamari, Aioli & Breads (£13.50). We also chose a bottle of Chilean Via Alta Sauvignon Blanc (£17.50). The belly pork was quite possibly one of the best starters I have had in quite some time, the pork was beautifully soft and had been cooked long enough so that the fat had melted. It was coated in a delicious red wine jus, topped with a long sliver of the crunchiest crackling and the accompanying mango and chilli salsa skilfully complimented the richness of the pork. The sharing board was another triumph, fat juicy meatballs in a rich tomato sauce, slices of chorizo fried until just starting to crisp, calamari dipped into aioli, which in one bite instantly transported the diner to a bar in Spain and fresh bread to mop up all the delicious juices! The menu states that the board is enough for 2, but it would easily be enough for 3 people as ‘nibbles’ with drinks.
After such success with our choice of starters, we were very much looking forward to our mains and once again, they didn’t disappoint. We chose Pan fried Seabass, clams and mussels in a saffron vermouth seafood broth, crushed new potatoes, samphire (£15.95), Roasted Lamb Rump, served pink with a pea & asparagus puree, sautéed new potatoes, asparagus, blueberry coulis & a lamb reduction (£15.95) and Steak Burger, served on a warm Brioche bun with Dijon mayo, lettuce, tomato, onion, smoked bacon & mature cheddar, served with seasoned fries & homemade coleslaw (£11.95).
The Seabass was perfectly cooked, the skin crisp, the flesh soft, the clams and mussels were plentiful, the samphire – a particular favourite of mine, with its unique taste of the sea, provided a salty tang which cut through the richness of the broth. Our effortlessly efficient waitress also delivered a pot of tartare sauce, homemade and delicious! The roasted lamp rump, was exactly as described, tender pieces of lamb, cooked to pink perfection, the coulis added a sharp fruitiness which works so well with lamb and the asparagus, puree and potatoes, all added their own individual taste and texture. Finally, the burger and what a burger, in fact there was so much packed into the Brioche bun that it all had to be held together with a long stick to avoid collapse! The fries were hot and crisp and presented in an old fashioned enamel mug and the homemade coleslaw was excellent and a refreshing change from the usual mass produced offering that so many places insist on serving.
Finally to dessert and as with the entire menu, there was something to suit all tastes, a tangy lemon tart, rich vanilla cheesecake or a creamy rhubarb brulee. However, we couldn’t resist the Sticky Toffee Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream (£5.95) and Home Baked Warm Chocolate Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream (£5.95). I had chosen not to have dessert, but our waitress insisted on giving me a spoon “just in case”. It turned out that there was an ulterior motive to the additional cutlery as The Faulkner are very proud of their signature dessert Cherry and Amaretto Trifle with Pistachio and Dark Chocolate Crumb (£5.95) and as a surprise, they delivered one to our table. Now, I have never been a fan of trifle, wet cake is something I really don’t like, but I didn’t want to disappoint, so I braved a spoonful and to my immense surprise it was simply delicious! So delicious in fact that I almost ate all of it, only prevented from doing so by the other two spoons that were also digging in! Who knew that after all these years of avoiding anything ‘Trifley’ I could finally be converted! The other two desserts were also clearly extremely good as they disappeared very quickly indeed and if facial expressions are anything to go by, they were simply scrumptious!
Owners Darren and Kelly Lea should be extremely proud of what they have achieved, this once downtrodden pub has come a long, long way and judging by how busy it was when we visited, there are plenty of others who agree! The staff are friendly and attentive, the food is without doubt restaurant standard but at pub prices, which makes a change, but unlike many restaurants, The Faulkner makes you feel really welcome. Lucky Hoole has got itself a really good pub and I am absolutely sure that once you have visited and sampled what they have to offer, it won’t be long before you become one of their regulars! Finally, all that is left to do is wish them well in Britain’s Best High Street, so fingers crossed and good luck Hoole, you really deserve to win!
Private: The Faulkner Pub, Bar and Restaurant
48 Faulkner Street, Hoole, Chester, CH2 3BE
The Faulkner is the must visit pub in Chester for those looking for great restaurant standard food, cask marque recognised ales & a fabulous wine list, in modern cosy surroundings
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