Eat, drink, be merry - just don't smoke!
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Recommendation added: 11/04/2006 00:49
By: dewberry (YSUK rating +816)dewberry has been thanked 3 times for this contribution
"After I've had my 30th birthday holiday in May, I'm giving up smoking. Definitely this time. I've tried before, god knows I've tried, but I always seem to fail when I decide to go to the pub. I'm quite looking forward to the new smoking laws being brought in next year as this will mean one last hurdle for me to overcome, anyway I decided to test the waters in one of the Midlands first completely non-smoking pubs and see how long I could last without a fag.
The Four Oaks pub and restaurant, which oddly enough is located in the Mere Green area of Sutton Coldfield rather than the Four Oaks area, is part of the Chef & Brewer chain and is upmarket to say the least.
The first clue to the fact that this is a non smoking pub is the large 'butt bin' located just outside the entrance. The second clue is the most astounding. The air is clean and fresh; this doesn't whiff like a pub, it smells like Harrods! I can smell the food being cooked, I can smell the coal in the open grate fires, I can even smell my perfume! What I can't smell is the blue-grey smoke which seems to fill my nostrils as soon as I walk into any other pub. The difference in the atmosphere is amazing, but don't forget I'm a smoker and this is nothing more than a novelty to me considering my whole house smells like a pub in terms of smoke sometimes!
The inside of the Four Oaks is lovely, really lovely. They've gone for a old fashioned and sophisticated country pub look; lots of dark wooden beams, roaring fires in no less than three open grates, staff wearing smart waistcoats, even candles on every table which are lit at dusk. A gorgeous place to sit and relax for a couple of hours.
When I arrived I was immediately greeted by a rather dishy bloke who showed me and my partner (no flirting!) to a well placed table next to one of the fires. He was so polite, he even held the chair out for me to sit down – never in my life has that happened before, apart from the odd times when my dad was drunk and came over all chivalrous! In fact, all the staff I encountered were exceptional. They were without fail knowledgeable, polite and helpful which is a rarity in Birmingham pubs these days.
The only thing I can fault the Four Oaks on is the lack of table service. In such an upmarket restaurant I was surprised that I had to go to the bar to order our meals, I would have expected someone to come and take my order at the table. This is a minor niggle though, and staff at the bar were as helpful and attentive as any table service restaurants I've eaten at.
The food is to die for. The Four Oaks has an extensive printed menu and also several chalkboards advertising the special dishes for that day, all of which sound deliciously 'special'.
I ordered Penne Pasta with chunks of cod, salmon, prawns and mussels in a Champagne sauce from the specials board which was as good as it sounds. The fish was cooked to perfection with the sauce being rich and subtly tasting of champagne. The pasta was (for once in an English pub) cooked to the perfect al dente texture and tasted fresh and wholesome. The meal was delicious and reasonably priced at £12.95, the portion size was huge although the food was so wonderful that I ate way past my 'full up' point.
Mark ate his usual steak, cooked to his usual medium rare taste accompanied by his usual chips and peas. His only break from the routine was the addition of onion rings, mushrooms and tomatoes. He commented that the thick sirloin steak was cooked exactly how he liked it, which is a recommendation in itself as Mark ALWAYS moans about his steaks when we're eating out. The chips were nicely chunky and the couple I stole from his plate while he went to the loo were just right, they weren't either dripping in fat or dry as bones as seems to be the norm in restaurants these days. Again, a massive meal for the excellent price of £9.95.
The dessert selection is also great. We both had the Flapjacks; which are served with a choice of custard, ice cream or cream. These were wonderfully stodgy and had a fantastic home made syrupy flavour, with a thickness which was more cake than biscuit. Other choices include cheesecake, a variety of rich sounding cakes and gateau's and ice cream. The standard price of desserts seemed to be £2.95 which is reasonable as the portion sizes are generous and most choices are freshly made as you order.
The Four Oaks has a wide selection of drinks to choose from, ranging from a bottle of Merlot to a glass of Courvoisier to a pint of Stella. The wines are priced slightly higher than average, but are served well and at the correct temperature. Mark loved the choice of real ales, supping a pint of Adnams Broadside and sampling a couple of halves from the guest ale selection.
Children are welcome in the Four Oaks until 9pm, although there aren't any high chairs so I'm assuming this only applies to kids who are old enough to sit and eat their dinners in an adult fashion rather than tomato sauce smeared toddlers. Personally, I wouldn't bring my two young daughters here as I know they'd be bored after a while and there isn't anything to amuse them by way of play areas or room for them to wander around. It's a shame really as a non smoking pub should cater more to families to really get the benefit from their policies while I think my children would feel more at home in a regular pub, smoke and all! This is not the ideal situation.
In all, Mark and I had a lovely couple of hours. We ate until we felt like bursting, were well looked after by fantastic staff and neither of us had a cigarette – it was too warm sitting next to that fire to go and stand in the rain puffing away! Bonus! We spent around £40 including drinks, which is roughly what we spend wherever we go out to eat and the overall experience was so much more relaxing than popping down to our usual £4.99 carvery place.
There is a large, well lit car park at the Four Oaks including a small section next to the doors which is reserved for disabled visitors. Access for wheelchair users is excellent, with a large disabled toilet and wide aisles between the tables. The ultra high bar could be a problem, however!
The Four Oaks is located at 62 Belwell Lane in Sutton Coldfield. If you're travelling by car, take the A5127 Lichfield Road from Sutton Coldfield Town Centre and Belwell Lane is on your left as you approach the Mere Green shopping area. By bus grab the 105 or 366 from Sutton Coldfield and have a quick ten minute walk to the Four Oaks, a nice walk actually up a narrow leafy road past some gems of houses."
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