Steakhouse puts former mining village on the map for its mountainous roasts

LYNETTE PINCHESS travels to Annesley Woodhouse to sample a Sunday roast that has been earning rave reviews from diners

- LYNETTE PINCHESS travels to Annesley Woodhouse to sample a Sunday roast that has been earning rave reviews from diners

A FEW years ago I rarely used to go out for Sunday dinner because nine times out of ten it was a woeful affair.

With overdone beef, roasties that looked to be the work of Aunt Bessie’s and soggy or hard vegetables, we could do better at home.

But wow - haven't chefs upped their game? The last few roast dinners I've eaten in pubs, bars and restaurants have been faultless, making worth the while paying for someone else to slave over a hot stove and do the washing up.

On my list of spots to review for a long time has been an award-winning steakhouse in a Nottinghamshire village.

I've heard a lot of good things about Porterhouse by Barlows, which is a 35-mile round trip for me.

I've never been to Annesley Woodhouse, once a thriving mining village until the pit closed at the turn of the millennium. There's a couple of pubs (one of them a micropub), a Co-op and not a lot else apart from houses. A local dog walker passed us with a cheery “hello” so it seems a friendly enough place.

Porterhouse by Barlows is on the main Forest Road and there's plenty of parking when we arrive on the dot of noon. It’s so popular we had to book a couple of weeks in advance, so don’t just roll up and expect to get a seat.