Are you looking for pub food with a difference? Well, The Miners Arms is the one of the best pubs and restaurants for food in the Forest of Dean and they also put on live music too! The menu is packed full of local food and they even serve kid (as in goat, not children!) from the Cotswolds. Mario and Karen are big on the eating local ethos and are extremely enthusiastic about food. Their portion sizes are generous and the quality is fantastic ā and it isnāt your standard pub grub!
Authentic Greek food availableā¦
Mario is Greek, so naturally youāll find the odd Greek dish on the menu and these are proving to be a great success. This makes perfect sense, because the Forest of Dean isnāt exactly overflowing with Greek restaurants!
Peteās Scotch bonnets blew us away!
We settled on the chili sausages and mash. The chili comes from Pete, a local chap who grows his own Scotch bonnets. Jars of his chili sauce are on sale at the pub and it looks like pretty dangerous stuff!
Top marks for sausages
The sausage meat came from local butchers, which we love to see. You canāt beat a real sausage! Marioās bangers were extremely tasty and the Scotch bonnet chilies gave them a real kick! Nevertheless, they werenāt so hot that you couldnāt taste the pork and other seasonings. We each got three good sized sausages with mash, gravy and veg. Being āproperā sausages, they have that meaty bite and texture to them ā they were nothing like value mass-produced sausages with āmeatā of dubious origin.
Generous portions & buttery mash
Ā The mash was served up in a generous portion and was creamy and extremely buttery – we had ours with asparagus. It was all nicely presented. You know youāre getting good portions when your meal still looks substantial on a large very plate!
Gravy to die for!
The gravy was the finishing touch that made it extra special. I donāt know what the secret is, but it was absolutely delicious and very rich. Perhaps it was the bacon lardons?
Great value for money
Ā It was great value for money at Ā£11.00 ā a generous portion and good quality wholesome food. Itās not the cheapest bangers and mash, but itās what you would expect for the price. Proper sausages from the local butchers and real butter in the mash! So, as you can see, this is a cut above your bog standard bangers and mash! The Miners Arms isnāt the cheapest pub for food generally, but then itās not trying to be. Karen and Mario arenāt interested in competing on price ā their main concern is quality and they are definitely hitting the mark. Just check out TripAdvisor to see the reviews! They even received a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence in 2014!
The pub is welcoming with an open fire and itās beautifully decorated. You can tell that Mario and Karen take a lot of pride in their pub and restaurant. The barman was a friendly local and also extremely well trained and good at his job ā which we appreciate!
The Miners Arms menu highlights
So, what about the rest of the menu? Well, the burgers looked pretty eye-catching. Thereās a Gourmet Burger Menu with their āThe Hogā, a wild boar burger with blue cheese sauce and the āGamekeeperā venison burger with beetroot and horseradish chutney. These arenāt your run of the mill burgers – they are the gourmet variety, made from fresh locally caught game! In fact, one of the WyeDean team was so impressed by the food on offer at the Miners Arms, that she booked a family meal!
Real Scotch eggs!
Mario happened to be making wild boar black pudding and bacon Scotch eggs when arrived. These were available as starters that day, and were an impressive size! One of those on its own could have probably done someone for lunch, but we thought weād go for the sausage and mash nonetheless.
Venison steamed pudding: a retro-style treat
The steamed venison pudding also caught our attention, because these traditional style steamed puddings arenāt that common these days and they have become a bit of a retro treat!
So, if you want to eat out somewhere with a good atmosphere, and which serves fresh, high quality food from local producers, you need to get yourself to the Miners Arms at Whitecoroft! Youāll receive a warm welcome and tasty, filling food from this lively couple who are passionate about food. Mario even looks like a celebrity chef!
Visit the Miners Arms website & like their Facebook page.