The Fighting Cocks, Hale Common

The pub Sunday roast is a tradition that is still very much alive. Even though we’re all cutting down on our eating out expenditure, certain classes of dining seem to be weathering the storm, and Sunday roast is one of them. Perhaps we’re just craving the comfortable, safe feeling of a family gathering with all the trimmings. Or maybe it’s a retreat to times past when we could rely on food to be the same price from one week to the next, and adventurous dining meant choosing to put mustard on your roast beef instead of horseradish.

We visited the Fighting Cocks, Hale Common, late on Sunday afternoon in the depths of winter. Many less confident pubs and restaurants have shut their doors for a few weeks or months, but the Fighting Cocks is made of sterner stuff. On our way to our table we passed a large party bearing balloons and presents, reminding us that this is a very popular pub for big groups, and even in January booking is a good idea. As we’d taken that precaution, we were well positioned to enjoy the lively atmosphere and attentive service.

There was an extensive menu of pub grub standards, but the huge blackboard above the bar was all about the Sunday roast, and we were not going to deny it. With a choice of four different meats, a range of veg, plus even more veg as optional extras, we knew we were going to get well fed. We ordered from the table by pressing the handy electronic bell, which produced an almost instantaneous visit from our waitress. She proved very knowledgeable about the various permutations of meat and veg that could be devised, and skillfully guided our table of ditherers towards a satisfactory lunch choice.

The Sunday roasts arrived on the table with two big boats of steaming gravy, and dishes of vegetables to share. Pleasingly, each meal came automatically with little pots of appropriate sauces, depending on what meats had been chosen. Matt had both gammon and beef, so he had horseradish and cranberry sauce. We had boldly ordered a side dish of Cat’s favourite cauliflower cheese and, boy, was this a good investment. A big metal dish of cauliflower was well doused in a cheese-rich sauce, which had been baked enough to turn the edges into delicious cheesy crusts. The meat itself was fine, and the vast Yorkshire pud was a bit dry and resistant, but with the good supply of gravy available this was not an insurmountable problem. A tiny mystery cube of solid stuff turned out to be stuffing. This was far outshone by the numerous potatoes, roast and new, which were probably the best part of the meal apart from the sublime cauliflower.

The only member of the party who declined roast had instead chosen a lasagne, which was a good example of the pub grub genre. With chips and a big fresh salad, the lasagne was hot and tasty, with plenty of cheesy sauce to dip the chips into. It gave the impression that the non-roast menu would probably be worth exploring on other days of the week.

Despite nobody finishing everything on their plate, we were unable to resist desserts. Hot Belgian waffle with ice cream was very satisfactory and the huge slabs of choco-coffee goodness, which was the day’s special mocha cheesecake, caused gasps of delight – and groans of satiation.

Our Sunday lunch was an enjoyable and satisfying one. The comfortable venue, great service and very keen prices were plus points. Amazingly, two of us dined for only twenty quid each. A rare treat these days. The quality of the food ranged from the outstanding cauliflower cheese to the downright enigmatic stuffing cube, but scored well throughout on both quantity and variety. We think the Fighting Cocks is a great place to bring a group of diners at any time of the year, and any day of the week.

https://thefightingcocksiow.co.uk/
01983 865254
The Fighting Cocks, Hale Common, Arreton, Isle of Wight PO30 3AR

This is the full-length version of the review first published in the Isle of Wight County Press.