british way – We eat. We write.

I had to review something American right? After living in USA for over 20 years I have to talk about fast food as well.

This one came as a surprise. Coming back from a networking event and picking my niece from her school with my sister we decided to get some ‘to-go’ food. And there we were in front of the @KFC. I usually get the bucket with lots of fried chicken to share and mashed potatoes, gravy.

I decided to give it a chance and try something else. I have a sweet tooth which caused me to get Pepsi as well. I probably should not have but I did.

I decided to order Wicked Zinger Meal. This comes with Zinger Fried Chicken Burger, Fries, 2 hot wings, corn (my choice) and a drink.

Generally, it was good. Temperature was ok.Bun was fresh but fried chicken and 2 hot wings were not crunchy enough for my taste. Seasoning was also ok. I expected a bigger kick in spice department.

Nothing great or good as @Chick-fil- a in USA or @Zaxby’s in the south. I think I might have spoiled myself with greatness of fried chicken experts in USA.

Then there was a packaging issue I thought was interesting which caused my wings fall from the bottom of the package.

We also got a wrong drink as well as under and over filled drinks. Overfilled drink was also all over my jeans in the car.

Service was nice, speedy not perfect. Employee’s were nice for a ‘To-go’ establishment.

You will probably hear a lot from me about the quality of service in UK which is a subject dramatically annoys me. But thru my business @SpreadConsult I will train one restaurant at a time.

Also my new book that is given to me as a gift teaching me how to be a proper British adding some humor into it as well. This book told me that British do not complain.

Just my 2 cents, if you are not happy about service please say something in a nicest possibly way.

Hours :11:00 am-11:00 pm

Pics credit: @KFC

Don’t forget to add your own thoughts and please keep it classy!

White Hart Tap is one of my favourite pubs in St Albans. It has been a tradition of mine to have fish and chips there on a Friday evening whenever I visited England in the past. So in order to carry on with this tradition, I went there on the day I landed in the UK for good.

Since my last visit, I realised that they have renewed their brand. I think the new brand design reflects the clientele of the pub and gives the pub an updated look and feel.

The inside of the pub does not look much different in terms of design. Perhaps this is something they are planning on a longer term.

About the Beer

I love beer in this country. None of that gas filled, glass frozen beer stuff. It is the real deal. They come from real kegs.

I learned that an organisation that promotes Real Ale is the reason why there are so many great ales in this country. Guess what? @Camra you got my attention and I fully support you.

The ales they carry @White Hart Tap are London Pride, Doom Bar, Landlord and Harvest Pale. They carry various types of beers. I had Doom Bar and London Pride and loved them.

As I experience more beer I will definitely write more about all them.

About the food

Fish and chips is a hot English dish, consisting of fried battered fish, and chips. This is one of Britain’s traditional pub foods.

Let’s talk about the fish and chips a bit. It’s the crowd favorite. It’s listed under their main menu. Check out the White Hart Tap menu here.

They are beer battered which starts the process. Their fries are hot cut and delicious. I do not like frozen, ready-made fries. I always suggest restaurant owners to go fresh. It is great to see that White Hart Tap is already doing so.

Owner here definitely follows fresh better philosophy. Of course the side dish options are peas. You can choose mushy or garden peas. What is the difference? Well, the tradition is to with the mushy option. I love peas generally speaking. I never had mushy peas before. I am not sure if that is the texture maybe but I love it with fish and chips.

Fish was great, crisp and nicely fried. Fries were delicious and you can tell they are not frozen as mentioned earlier.

Seasoning is the key. I did not really need to add anything to the dish for seasoning which was great because I do not enjoy dishes that are under or over seasoned.

Experience

I always thought this was a great pub and since my last visit it was, once again, as good as I remember it. This pub is one of the oldest pubs around. But even in an area like St Albans where there are more pubs per square meter than anywhere else in England, this pub gets your attention.

It is cute and dog friendly. Well maintained with outside sitting area as well. The large beer garden at the back and pre-organised BBQ weekends at the rear of the Pub brings additional life to the Pub during the Spring and Summer.

The staff is very welcoming and they know the regular local people by first name, which is a nice touch.

They welcome children to the Pub however they do not provide high chairs. I would not say it is a Family-pub as such but you get the families with small children coming over for Sunday roast dinner.

In the early stages of my pub adventure, I believe this place will remain to be one of my favorites. This is information I found as just a consumer. I know the owner Andrew Meredith and I look forward to find out more about the pub itself, food, drinks and their client base. I would love Andrew to join me in this blog too.

Did you know?

They have quiz nights on Wednesdays. Want to win some free cash? Here is your chance. You can also score free drinks as well.

Fish and chips are usually served on Friday nights. So, try to book in advance as seats will be sold out.

The pub is located close to the St Albans City Centre with postcode AL1 1QJ. There is plenty of parking availability around the pub, if you are happy to ‘pay and display’.

Hours daily: 12:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Phone: +44 (0) 1727 860974

Pictures are from @WhiteHartTap St Albans

Don’t forget to add your own thoughts and please keep it classy!

If you would like to know more about me and how I help restaurants, bars, pubs, coffee shops, the contact me at Spread Consulting. I am happy to have an initial free 1-hour consultation meeting about your food business. Get in touch today.