The Pen and Pencil has written a new evening menu

Confidentials 16 May 2016

After the success of their bottomless brunch, which sees customers forming an orderly queue at opening time on weekends, the Pen and Pencil has now extended their food offering, by launching a brand new evening menu.

These dishes have been pored over, heavily discussed, sampled, adjusted and tasted more times over the past few weeks than during a Masterchef semi-final

From this week, food will be available from 5pm-9pm, seven days a week. Customers can expect a menu based around comfort food, but unlike a pair of M&S tights, one size does not fit all. Where one person might find comfort in a slowly cooked rack of glazed pork ribs (with the sweet and moist meat falling off the bone) served alongside a crunchy homemade apple slaw, another might find it in a steaming bowl of rich lobster bisque with crusty bread (great value at £6.50). Expect drink friendly comfort food, pretty much however you interpret that.

To complement their cool and relaxed vibe, their new menu involves a range of small and large plates (rather than starters, mains and desserts) which they have narrowed down from a long-list of over fifty dishes. Honestly, in all our years, we have rarely come across a venue which has devoted so much time and effort coming up with a new menu. These dishes have been pored over, heavily discussed, sampled, adjusted and tasted more times over the past few weeks than during a Masterchef semi-final.

As a result, after much deliberation and cogitation, skin is crispy where it needs to be, dressings add depth to crunchy fresh salads and seasonings are spot on. Small plates, perfect for a lighter bite, or sharing, include the vegan harissa grilled aubergine with crushed nuts, a light and refreshing salmon and sea bass ceviche with chilli and lime, or lightly smoked mozzarella fried in breadcrumbs, served with a seasonal heirloom tomato salad.

Bruschetta (v)

It wouldn’t be right to create a comfort food menu without a good burger. The Pen and Pencil signature burger involves an 8oz prime beef patty served medium, topped with smoky streaky bacon, Monterey Jack cheese, red onion jam and salad served in a brioche bun. Those who like more choice in a burger might prefer to order ‘Buns of Anarchy’ a selection of mix and match ‘sliders’ made from either Cajun battered cod, king prawn and chimichurri, grilled halloumi or prime beef and bone marrow.

Buns of Anarchy

As you’d expect from a brand so conscientious about their cocktails, branded spirits and beer selection, Pen and Pencil have shown the same care in regard to their food suppliers, getting fresh ingredients delivered daily from Altham’s highly respected independent family butchers, Cheshire Wholesale for vegetables and dairy, Amato for dry goods and Neve Fleetwood for the freshest fish and seafood. As you’d expect, where possible, they make a lot of things themselves from scratch such as marinades, sauces and spice mixes.

Pan Roasted Tiger Prawns (gf)

We particularly enjoyed an unusual dish of crispy seared fillet of sea bream with fresh samphire, borage, sautéed potatoes and cucumber (cucumber served warm, who’d have thought it?)

They’ve wisely decided against a dessert menu for now, providing a perfect excuse for those who want to round their meal off with something sweet to order a cocktail. We recommend you leave some room for a ‘Tomorrowland’ which blends vodka with chocolate liqueur and mint chocolate chip ice cream – who needs pudding?