The Mallard is an unremarkable 1950s style pub with a large car park on the edge of Scunthorpe opposite ASDA. It is like the Tardis inside – a huge space broken up by wooden partitions and stained glass into smaller sitting areas. With a low ceiling and few windows, it does feel dark inside. It is popular with Oldies as it serves a daily three course carvery for £6.75. I went with the WI for a belated Christmas dinner in early January and the place was full.
There is a small bar area with the usual selection of alcoholic drinks but no real ale. The carvery is set at right angles to it at one end of the pub.
A waitress takes orders for the starters and deserts which are served to the table. Once ordered, they do appear quickly. You collect your mail meal from the carvery where the chef carves thin slices of meat.
There was a choice of vegetable soup, melon or orange juice for starters. It was a bitterly cold day and most of us opted for the soup and a roll. It was not as hot as it could have been. If it was homemade, the chef had been very heavy handed with the sage which masked any flavour of the vegetables. The melon was a generous slice garnished with slices of orange but very cold and people who had chosen this said it had little flavour.
The carvery was a choice of turkey, beef or meat pie. I chose the beef. It was a large joint but very pale in colour, I’ve never seen beef this pale before and in fact it looked more like gammon than beef… It was well done – too well done for me – but that may reflect the preferences of the elderly clientele. It was tender, but didn’t have a lot of flavour.
It came with Yorkshire pudding and a selection of carrots, peas, cauliflower in sauce, ratatouille (strange choice) sprouts and new or roast potatoes. The vegetables had been kept under heat lamps but by 1pm they were only luke warm. The sprouts were very overcooked and an example of sprouts at their worst…. The horseradish sauce however was just how I like it – strong and capable of clearing out the sinuses.
Desert was a choice of lemon sponge and custard or ice cream. I chose the ice cream and this was possibly the best bit of the meal…
I can’t say this was a great meal or a particularly memorable one, but at the price you can’t expect miracles. It was filling and I didn’t want any tea. The kitchen has a 5* hygiene rating so if you are wanting a cheap, bland but filling meal this may be worth considering. Tea or coffee are charged extra.
