My favourite part about Christmas isn’t the presents but the food. There’s nothing more that I love than a delicious freshly cooked roast turkey dinner with all the trimmings. I can’t forget the mince pies either! Now it’s reached November it means the festive menus have started appearing at many places, great news for me then! There’s nothing better to do on a cold winters night than divulge in some delicious heart warming food, so I headed to The Victoria in Barnt Green to sample their new festive menu.

Located in Bromsgrove, just 10 miles south from Birmingham city centre, The Victoria is a quaint village pub that hosts a warm homely ambience with a touch of luxury. Upon entering the pub I could see it had been tastefully decorated for Christmas and friendly staff promptly seated me at my table, next to a crackling open fire. There are three different choices with the festive menu currently on offer at The Victoria:

• Three course classic festive menu – £26.95
• Four course indulgent festive menu (choice of premium dishes), with a glass of Prosecco on arrival and luxury chocolate truffles to finish – £33.95
• Five course extra special festive menu (choice of premium dishes), with a glass of Moët & Chandon champagne on arrival, rustic breads and olives, and a cocktail of your choice – £48.95

I opted for the three course classic festive menu, as well as one of the the special festive cocktails! I chose the festive pornstar martini, which was a standard pornstar martini with the added twist of winter berry syrup to give it a lovely spiced festive taste which didn’t overpower the drink. My partner chose the festive espresso martini, which like my drink, also had the addition of the winter berry syrup with complimented the coffee aroma perfectly.

For my starter I opted for the ‘duck liver & port parfait served with toasted walnut & raisin bread and a spiced fruit & sloe gin chutney’. Duck liver parfait is a classic Christmas favourite of mine so I couldn’t resist choosing it and I definitely made the right choice because it was delicious! Even though I’m not a fan of port, it perfectly complimented the rich creamy flavour of the parfait, with the spiced fruit and sloe gin chutney really giving the dish the festive feeling it needed. Spread over the warm toasted walnut and raisin bread this dish was to die for! My partner opted for the ‘creamy garlic mushrooms on toasted sourdough topped with Blacksticks Blue cheese’, I managed to steal a forkful from him and even though I’m not a big fan of blue cheese I found there was just the right amount in this dish for me to enjoy it and not be too overpowered by it.

Our mains arrived not long after our starters were cleared and WOW were we impressed! Laid before us was a feast fit for a king and we couldn’t wait to get stuck in. I opted for the ‘maple pork belly and pig cheek, on Dijon chive mash, cavolo nero, crisp prosciutto and a red wine & sage jus’, although apprehensive as I’ve never tried pig cheek before I was assured by the waitress that I’d love it. The pork belly crisp but juicy too, being cooked to perfection with the maple glaze browning at the edges giving it the perfect caramelised sweetness. The Dijon chive mash and cavolo nero was equality as tasty. When I was feeling brave enough I tried the pig cheek for the first time and was surprised that it wasn’t like anything I’d tasted before. It was deliciously tender and melted in your mouth, overall bringing a unique twist to the dish. My partner opted for the ‘roasted turkey with fluffy beef-dripping roasted potatoes, a honey mustard duvet and pork & clementine stuffing. Served with red wine gravy and bread sauce’. I didn’t personally try this dish but my partner told me everything was all cooked to perfection; usually turkey can be quite dry but it was flavoursome and moist. I was also extremely jealous that he got pigs in blankets as I adore them! Both meals came with an accompaniment of seasonal vegetables which consisted of sprouts, carrots and roasted parsnips coated in a tasty seasoning. The pictures don’t do the meals justice as the portion size was so plentiful for both the meals and the accompaniments, with it all being seasoned to perfection. Me and my partner both agreed that this festive meal was one of the nicest that we’ve ever had. The attention to detail with every aspect of the meal, making sure everything was seasoned and glazed accordingly, really excited my taste buds putting The Victoria up there as one of my all time favourite places for a heartwarming festive fayre.

I was pleasantly full after the first two courses, but as they say ‘there’s always room for dessert!’. Fancying something a bit fruity I opted for the ‘apple and plum crumble topped with a demerara sugar crumb, served with custard’. Served in its own mini saucepan the crumble was just as delicious as I expected it to be, tart and heartwarming balanced perfectly with the vanilla custard. The perfect way to end any meal! My partner being a chocoholic chose the ‘chocolate brownie with Belgian chocolate sauce, honeycomb ice cream and a brandy snap crumb‘. He couldn’t get enough of this decadent dessert and only wished he could eat another! He’s tried many chocolate brownies in his time but he did comment that this one was gorgeous compared.

Christmas is a time of the year best spend enjoying yourself and I can’t think of a better way to enjoy yourself than divulging in the gastronomic delights that The Victoria has the offer. From fun festive cocktails to the heartwarming food than you can eat next to a crackling fire, you can’t go wrong with The Victoria. You can check out their festive menus and full menus here.

What’s your favourite food to eat at Christmas?

Laura 
♡

Disclaimer: the food I received was complimentary however all opinions are genuine and my own.