Pat Wallis reviews
The Holmfield Arms
Thornes Park, Denby Dale Road, Wakefield, WF2 8DY
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01924 231370�Let�s go to the Holmfield Arms for lunch one day !� he said. Should I have been surprised? No! Those of you who know Bob will also know of his devotion to Hardys & Hansons beers and this pub just happens to be one of their tied houses. To quote from the Branch Database �Built 1833 as Holmefield House , home of Thomas Foljambe, later acquired by the Corporation, housing for a time a museum and park restaurant , then the Holmfield Arms Beefeater with a Travel Inn attached, listed as a Building of Local Interest�.
The setting is superb, just inside Thornes Park surrounded by trees with a
large but private garden. The busy main road could have been miles away!
You do feel as if you�re in somebody�s stately home. It is a large
building. It can seat 180 diners and the brewery spent some �� million
on its refurbishment.
Although there were quite a few people in when we were there the place is neatlydivided up to give maximum personal space. Three Hardys & Hansons beers were on (much to Bob�s delight!) We started with a half each of Kimberley Bitter 3.9% which was in superb condition. Later we tried the richer Olde Trip 4.5% with equal enthusiasm and with the added bonus that it only cost �1.11 per half which we felt was really good for a premium beer. Bob also tried the seasonal mid-amber citrus hoppy 5% Druid�s Droop .
The food menu is equally impressive. All tastes would seem to be
catered for (including vegetarian). You could pop in for a snack e.g.
salads, baguettes, wraps, paninis, jackets or burgers nearly all for under
a fiver or you could have a more celebratory meal with beef ribs in a
cracked black pepper gravy or half a duck! There�s a 2 Meals for �9
offer, which operates all day Monday to Friday and Saturday 11-5, but Bob
went for their Kimberley Pie (beef in a gravy made with Kimberley Bitter)
and was most impressed. They also do pork sausages flavoured with Old Trip
Ale! a nice touch, available with mash or in a panini! I like to think of
myself as a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to omelettes and mine, with
mushroom and cheese filling ranked with the best. We should have stopped
there but there was also a special offer on certain of the sweets @ 2 for
�3.50 again excellent value! I had two pancakes with maple syrup and
vanilla ice cream. Even the waitress described it as �yummy�. Bob went
for the St Clement�s Pavlova, meringue, cream, ice cream, oranges and
lemon sauce, refreshing after that pie. Again he was well pleased.The
service through-out was swift, efficient and very friendly.
They provide a Children�s Menu which includes many healthy options, plus
a Golden Years menu for Seniors (Mon- Sat 11-5) and of course traditional
Sunday lunch. Hardys & Hansons say they want to make it �a pleasant
dining experience� and this it certainly was!
Purely by chance we dined on the very morning that it was announced that Hardys & Hansons had been the object of a �271m. take over by Greene-King. Fingers crossed that quality beers will continue to be brewed at Kimberley and that G-K will appreciate what a treasure they have in this particular dining experience ! PW
Footnote: Beer and food quality under the new owners are still good!