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Review: The Wappy Spring
I'VE head it said on more than one occasion that the Wappy Spring Inn and Bistro is a great little find.
It's also very conveniently positioned on the edge of town, but perfectly placed for connections. The M62 is only a stone's throw away and a bus runs past its front door. But the big question is, is it in Calderdale or Kirklees?
It sits on Lindley Moor Road and has a Halifax telephone number but a Huddersfield postcode. The two guys who run it, Austin Wylie and Trevor Simpkins says it's a topic of conversation in the pub all the time because their regulars are split 50-50 – half come from Calderdale and the other half are from Kirklees.
One thing both sides do agree on however is the pub's star attraction - its food. They reckon it's a gem of a place that oozes warmth and character and serves top- quality meals.
I have to say when I visited on a Wednesday evening the first thing I asked myself was: are we still in a recession?
The place was bustling, and after eating, everyone seemed in good spirits, which is testimony to the hard work Austin and Lee have put in over the last six years. The two Huddersfield lads ran the nearby Cavalry Arms before taking the "Wappy", so named after the Wappy Spring Brewery in Outlane. It was founded in 1892 and bought by Webster's in 1957.
Austin, a self-taught chef works in the kitchen, while Trevor is front of house.They serve food seven days a week and the menu is oriented to seasonal selections, modern British cuisine with a touch of the Med thrown in. There's also a touch of the unusual too. Battered spam fritters for instance served on mashed potatoes with a red wine drizzle, or battered black pudding and goats cheese. It's the stuff clogged arteries are made of but, nevertheless, very popular.
Old favourites like steak, lamb Henry, scampi, sausage and mash, chicken and home-made steak pie are all there and two of the most popular nights are Tuesday fish night and Thursday steak night. You get two meals and a bottle of wine for 20 on both nights – and get this: you can mix and match. So if one fancies fish and other steak on either night, it's not a problem.
The two introduced the credit crunch specials because they felt they were getting a reputation for being too "pricey." Fair comment because, while the portions are huge, if you are not eating off the credit crunch or early bird menus, the food isn't cheap.
You also have to wait an age to get your food, but most think it is worth it because dishes are delicious.
But there were far too many home-made chips for my liking and when I get a side salad I like it to be dressed.
My friend stuck to tradition and had prawn cocktail followed by steak.
She got five king prawns with a Marie Rose sauce and buttered brown bread. Her only complaints, like mine, were too many chips and the side salad needed a dressing.
I had a "pepper" night. Scallops served with strips of pimento in a lobster sauce for starters (more scallops and less sauce would have suited) and then a beef sizzler with onions and peppers in a sauce with chips, dips and wraps. Like the lobster sauce, the sauce with my main was delicious but what spoiled it was the strips of steak. I asked for them pink but they came well done.
The bill, with one bottle of wine, came to 54.90 which is expensive for a mid-week meal. I'll probably give the pub another go on a Tuesday or Thursday before I decide if its a great little find or not.
Details
Name: The Wappy Spring
Address: Lindley Moor Road, Huddersfield, HX3 3TD
Tel no: 01422 372324.
Courier reviews conducted without the prior knowledge of the restaurant
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Friday 10 February 2012
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