Water Lane, Abinger Hammer, Surrey
My friends Chris and Kai proposed we meet at the Volunteer for a pint and dinner. I have never been to this particular pub before, and boy is it difficult to find! Eventually I found the place.
As you can see from the picture it is a pretty pub. There is a garden above the pub’s car park, but there were no spare tables so we found a table on a strip of grass between the other side of the car park and a stream and decided on a fish pie (£10), a steak, ale and mushroom pie (£10) and a sirloin steak (£14).
The food arrived promptly on square plates. Yes you read right - square plates in an English pub. The food didn’t look especially promising either. My steak and ale pie was served dissected, with a piece of pastry sitting on top, like a nouvelle cuisine garnish. A more accurate description would have been steak and ale casserole served with a pastry hat. A few new potatoes featured on one corner of the plate, a few wisps of cabbage and what looked like raw celery pieces by another. Surprisingly, it tasted rather good. The celery as suspected was raw.
On a trip to the bar for another pint, I discovered the chef was Swedish which may explain this odd marriage of ingredients. The meat was tender in a rich sauce, and despite what looked like a small serving, was filling. The fish pie was similarly presented and well made. Like the two pies, the steak really could have done with some more vegetables but was cooked as requested. Sauces provided were of the sachet variety and no french mustard was available - unforgiveable at these prices.
We shared two summer puds for dessert. They arrived suitably minimalist - sat in the middle of a large plate with a few surrounding flecks of sauce. The puddings tasted somewhat neutered - I like a summer pudding to taste fresh and vibrant - these tasted of a pack of frozen berries, which while not unpleasant didn’t quite hit the mark.
What to make of the Volunteer? It is with a heavy heart that I give this place a cautious recommendation, which has as much to do with the dearth of decent country pubs in Surrey as it does the merits of this establishment.
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