With so many eateries in Shrewsbury to come up with a new and exciting idea is always going to be a challenge, however the White Horse have mastered it with a very unique and ‘away from the norm’ menu still offering your traditional dishes but also many worldly dishes inspired by the travels of the team and a large amount of the menu being vegan.
Having recently been taken over and having a partial refurb, with a full refurb to a spectacular standard happening in 2020, the White Horse really is an amazing venue from its unique menu, stunning interior, friendly staff and general atmosphere. Meeting up with an old friend at The White Horse, we ordered our drinks and took a seat at a beautiful table in the window.
Looking through the very quirky menu, each dish had a full description and a list of exciting ingredients, sounding unique and incredible there was a Moroccan casserole, Brazilian picadillo, Katsu curry, jerk chicken skewers and lots more on offer. The menu consists of a good choice of mains, a selection of small plates and a ‘for the table’ section of things to share if you just want a snack with your friends at the table.
Taking our time to carefully select our dishes, Wendy opted for the pork schnitzel and potato gratin, whilst I opted for the beef lindstrom, and olives and Vietnamese fries to share. After ordering we sat back and both commented on what a stunning venue the White Horse now is, so many places to sit and the atmosphere was buzzing, it was good to see so many dogs about too with staff taking a bowl of water over to each pooch as they arrived.
The food arrived, our eyes lit up in delight, this certainly was a feast of superbly presented food and very generous portions. A mixture of olives that were fresh and delicious, two large mains and a bowl full of topped fries, where do we start?
Wendy’s pork schnitzels were perfectly coated and lay on a bed of porcini mushrooms coated in a creamy black truffle sauce giving the dish an earthy taste, the gentle potato gratin gave a smooth delicate flavour to the dish and the sauerkraut giving a fresh flavour and cleansing the palette ready for the next flavour, this was a very exciting dish that literally burst with flavours and certainly nothing either of us had tasted before.
My beef lindstrom burger looked equally fantastic with crispy fries, a pot of beer mayo and a dollop of house slaw. Inside a delicious brioch bun lay crunchy radicchio lettuce, sweet mustard mayo, scrumptious pulled brisket, a mouth-watering 6oz beef patty topped with gorgeous emmental cheese and a fried egg. These ingredients combined together was a pure taste sensation, every burger should have emmental cheese, it was simply fantastic, everything was clearly fresh and made on the premises by a very talented chef.
We probably didn’t need the extra portion of Vietnamese fries, but wow are we glad we did just to taste the incredible floral flavours of Asia, crunchy fries topped with a mixture of sriracha sauce, garlic mayo, hoi sin sauce, crushed peanuts and fresh coriander. I have personally travelled well around Asia and the flavours from this dish certainly took me back to incredible dishes I had tasted abroad and couldn’t believe you could get these flavours in a pub in Shrewsbury and on chips! Simply superb, and I highly recommend you go along to taste these if nothing else.
With some amazing food eaten all dishes had defeated us, you really do get fantastic value for money with the portion sizes being over generous. Despite being very full, we couldn’t resist trying a dessert especially reading the deep fried hirata bun rolled in sugar and cinnamon with salted caramel ice-cream. Thankfully small in size but massive in flavour, warm and well-seasoned the taste was spectacular combined with the delicious ice-cream this was the perfect end to our feast.
The White Horse really is offering a new experience in Shrewsbury, flavours that you won’t find anywhere else locally and a service to match with all staff being attentive and well knowledged with big smiles. Whether you fancy a pint and to try the Vietnamese fries or to sit down and enjoy one of the many mains on offer I highly recommend you visit the White Horse soon.
The White Horse
7 Wenlock Road
Shrewsbury
SY2 6JJ
Tel: 01743 340777
www.joulesbrewery.co.uk
Facebook: @whitehorsejoules