1: Enter the Ring

ML: Having enjoyed many a pint in The Ring in the past (not least for the hilarity of asking people if they fancied a quick one in the ring) it seemed like a comfortably familiar location to ease three intrepid food explorers into their most exciting venture to date; munching their way along The Cut.

GC: When we said we were going to The Ring, I had visions of girls crawling out of televisions and dragging me in to a well. Thankfully these visions didn’t come to fruition as we headed there for dinner (not lunch).

ML: For clarity we went there at lunchtime (middle of the day) and had lunch. The only people that might be confused by this are a few northerners and, as a rule, they don’t have access to the internet... or electricity... or the ability to read...

DO: The first thing you notice upon entry is the obvious boxing theme. The Ring was once home to a boxing gymnasium which (just about) explains the pictures of semi-naked men that litter the walls, but not the few odd-looking hunting trophies. Animal skulls and stuffed ducks are also present, raising the question of what indeed happened to all those boxers... Upon entry to the establishment we quickly secured a comfy looking corner table but, as there was only room for two on the sofa, one had to take the chair. We were going to flip a coin until someone pointed out that it rarely lands on its edge...

ML: The main focus of the menu in our first stop is Thai, so naturally both my daring dining buddies decided to order from the token ‘British’ pub section hidden at the bottom of the food choices (although I remember one of these people saying that he didn’t see the point in travel and has holidayed at Disneyland for the past 19 years - so maybe adventure isn’t his forte). I on the other hand went for Chicken Phad See Ewe (price: £6.50). I queried if it contained any lamb but was met with a blank look and a ‘no’. (join us next time for more possible sheep-based hilarity)

DO: I like British food! So sue me! We also agreed to all have something different but you didn’t mention that did you!? I’d had a very nice chicken pie recently so figured that would be a tasty bet here (price: £6.50). Unfortunately when it (finally) arrived it appeared as though it had fallen off the plate on the way to the table and then been hastily scraped back on. Then, in order to hide the taste of feet and dirt it had been drowned in gravy. However, aesthetics aside, it was fairly tasty and definitely filled a void.

GC: They unfortunately didn’t have my first choice of steak and kidney pie so I had to settle for a steak baguette with chips (price: £6.50). The sandwich was tasty enough, without being spectacular (the chips were probably the best part of the meal!) There was maybe a little too much mayonnaise, and the steak could have been chopped up a bit more, but it was decent enough... One thing we noticed was that drinks and food had to be paid for separately, as appears to be the case with several Thai-kitchened pubs...

ML: As the SAS say ‘He who dares wins’ and I was rewarded for my bold choice with the tastiest looking plate of food on arrival. Having never been to Thailand (I cannot see the point of travel) I would not be able to say how authentic my food was but I can vouch for its tastiness. Traditionally(?) presented in a big noodley pile with an accompanying token side salad, the food took a few minutes longer coming than was ideal. That being so, when it arrived I was pretty peckish and as a result may have overestimated the tastiness of the food, but I remember it being above average for Thai/pub food. The token side salad remained untouched, as is the tradition (one imagines) in Thailand.

DO: Our stomachs full, and our wallets now empty, we then sat discussing the ratings. We have a fairly standard set of judgement criteria, the final figures of which are an average of our 3 opinions. Hopefully this gives you some confidence that we aren’t just picking numbers out of a hat...

·         Decor – 8 boxing gloves out a possible 10

·         Clientele – 7/10

·         Food – 6/10

·         Service – 7/10

·         Price – 7/10

·         Toilets – 6/10

·         Overall – 6.5/10

GC: I think we would have enjoyed it more if we had had beers with our food... stupid work...

DO: Alcohol makes everything better...

GC: The Ring is definitely a pub rather than a restaurant, but the food is good enough if you require something cheap and quick. One major downside it has as a pub though is that it is a victim of its own success... On a Friday after work it can get full very quickly.

ML: Overall a fairly good lunch and promising start to our journey. In the next few weeks you, dear reader (although I largely suspect this will just be limited to the two people I just lunched with) can join us as, like Christopher Columbus, we travel west facing excitement and discovery, and spreading disease and oppressing the locals.