Food > The Big Eat Out: or IN

The Ribs of Beef

20/08/15

The Gen

The Ribs of Beef is a popular local pub in the heart of the city. The place is a small building with a whole lot of pub squeezed in! As I entered, a regiment of real ale pumps saluted my arrival. A promising start. In a time when pubs are struggling to survive without shifting to focus on food this place stands staunchly resolute it its pubishness. This is a Pub that sells food, not a restaurant, but neither the drink nor the food suffer for this. Instead, this focus allows them to create a really great watering hole.

The atmosphere

Spread across several sprawling floors the interior seems to have more staircases than storeys. It boggles the mind, like an alehouse designed by a drunk M C Escher, but creates a quirky and fun feel. It’s traditional in its décor with patterned carpets, leather stools and wood panelled walls but rejects the usual notion of a dingy boozer with high ceilings and numerous windows that allow light to pour in and guests to gaze out across the river (if that’s your thing, it’s really only a soggy road – I dunno, whatever floats your boat a ha ha, oh forget it). I’m told it’s ‘The City’s favourite local’ and with friendly staff and chatty regulars propping up the bar it definitely had a welcoming warmth about it. Taking advantage of its riverside location there is a small outdoor seating area and terrace from where you can taunt the passing ducks with your lunch.

The main event

To cook anything in their miniature galley kitchen is an accomplishment in space management that my grandmother, an expert at jigsaw puzzles, could never manage. I’ve seen larger galley kitchens on Broads day boats. Cooking in it becomes a game of culinary Tetris of which their chef is a master. Largely through necessity, the menu here is shortly to change. While still offering traditional pub grub the food on offer will shift to a more fluid, mix and match affair. The focus will be on flexibility and variety allowing the customer to decide how their meal is constructed from core ingredients in the kitchen. Fish/ chicken? Throw in a wrap, baguette or salad? Fancy a side? No problem! This new drive plays to the strength of the venue, both in limited kitchen space but also a customer focused and flexible approach that the staff seem keen to display. With this increased flexibility will also come the introduction of meals served in the evenings.

So, what did we plump for? Despite the size of the kitchen their menu offers an impressive range of options. A Mediterranean sharing platter seemed an ideal choice for a warm August afternoon. A selection of cold Italian meats, olives, warm breads, oil, a garnish and hummus. A simple dish that went down well with a pale ale from the bar and idle chat by the river. I also indulged in one of their homemade scotch eggs – I’d definitely have this again. The food, however, does feel like it plays second place to the venue, the drink and the people and this seems wholly right. It was nice but isn’t the main driving factor that makes me want to come back for another visit. 

Overall

I like this place. The steady flow of guest through the door like this place. The ducks bobbing on the river like this pla- LEAVE MY BREAD ALONE YOU THEIVING MALLARD! On an increasingly homogenised high street an old fashioned pub is becoming a rare sight. It makes me happy to see that one at least seems to be thriving.

 Venue – 7.5

Fodder – 7

Value – 7.5

Overall – 7.5