The Grouse

We spent a couple of days in Brontë Country, and on looking online, one of the most popular and highly rated places to eat in the area is The Grouse Inn. I mention this because it's quite an achievement to earn that, as so many of the places to eat in and around Keighley and Haworth offer wonderful food.

The most striking thing about The Grouse as you enter the car park is the breathtaking views it has across the moors! A good 180 degree view of pure natural beauty, with a classic British food pub in the centre. Marvellous.

The place itself as you walk in has that fantastic feel and decoration of the classic Northern English pub, with warm colours, a slate floored bar, a classic busy pub carpet, and dark wood furniture. Also good nods to the countryside element with taxidermy deer heads (and duck heads!), foxes, and artwork of the moors. It feels warm, friendly, and welcoming.

As we're seated, again we are treated to that amazing view from any window you look out of. Truly the most amazing view I've had with my dinner in this country!

The service is welcoming and friendly, menus are handed out with smiles and genuine interest in the customer. The menu itself is modern in design, but boasts some truly wonderful classic British foods, from liver and onions and fish and chips to sausage and mash and cottage pie, as well as other staple choices like pizza, pasta, steak, and salads.

We decided not to have a starter... we've learned the hard way before that if we have a starter in this sort of place we won't have room for pudding... not this time!

So for our mains, I ordered the trio of classic home-made sausages with mashed potatoes, gravy, and peas, and my partner ordered from the specials board, and went for the steak wellington with Stilton and pate.

Here is where I gush. The food was absolutely phenomenal! Delicious home-made food, fresh, rich, and bursting with flavours. The sausages were rich and juicy, the mashed potatoes was creamy and so very comforting, the steak wellington was an explosion of flavours, and we both agreed the gravy was the real deal, and absolutely sublime.

We had room for dessert. The dessert menu (given to us as the "pudding menu" as it should be!), was extremely tempting, and after a while deliberating over what to have, and changing our minds four or five times, we opted for that British pub classic... sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce and ice cream.

THIS is what should win The Grouse awards. My partner, Phil orders sticky toffee pudding whenever the opportunity arises, but actually stated that this is one of the best sticky toffee puddings he's ever had in his life; hot, rich, gooey and comforting. On the way home the following day, he was genuinely mulling over the idea of popping back into The Grouse JUST for that sticky toffee pudding on the way home!

The service was great, the views and decor were wonderful, and the food was absolutely fantastic. We will most definitely be returning to The Grouse, even if we're not in the area... it's only 57 minutes away... we checked!

Well done, The Grouse! See you again soon! :)

The Grouse Inn
Harehills Lane
Oldfield
Keighley
West Yorkshire
BD22 0RX
(01535) 643 073
www.thegrouse.co.uk