The Forge in Glenfield has long been a favourite of ours, from winter Sundays with the real fire and excellent roasts, to summer evenings in the beer garden and their Pizza Shed. Now, as they celebrate 15 years with The Beautiful Pubs Collective, the pub has undergone an internal refurbishment and is looking more beautiful than ever.
Wanting to see the new look pub, we visited on Saturday morning to sample their brunch menu. Brunch is served on Saturdays between 10am – 12pm and offers the perfect way to start your weekend. With a compact menu packing in local produce and freshly prepared dishes, you can choose from their Blacksmith’s Breakfast, vegetarian breakfast, pancakes, Eggs Benedict, steak & eggs, filled breakfast rolls, and more.
Whilst you decide, why not sample one of their Waker Upper cocktails, including Mimosas and Espresso Martini. We were tempted by the Bloody Mary, which came lightly spiced with celery, pepper and even an extra garnish of olive and Red Leicester cheese. A lovely (and delicious) touch.
There are few pubs where you can have complete confidence that every dish will be beautifully prepared and presented, but The Forge is one of them. After a little deliberation we settled on the pancakes with bacon and maple syrup and the vegetarian breakfast.
The vegetarian breakfast is a delight. Packed with goodness, you’ll enjoy two vegetarian sausages, grilled asparagus, two potato rosti, smashed avocado, roasted plum tomatoes, field mushroom, baked beans, and topped with a fried egg. For personal preference we asked to swap the baked beans for spinach, which the team were more than happy to accommodate.
The pancakes were equally impressive. A stack of 5 fluffy freshly made pancakes, topped with no less that 6 rashers of crispy bacon. The pancakes were covered in sweet maple syrup, whilst the dry cured streaky bacon had a wonderful crunch that contrasted perfectly with the sweet fluffy pancakes.
Further to the quality of the food and excellent portion sizes, we should also mention the price. The pancakes are priced at £8.95 and the breakfast at £10.95 (the meat equivalent full English is also £10.95). We both remarked this was a good price for quality, portion, service and surroundings.
For these winter months, the fire roaring in the bar makes the transition from brunch to the bar a tempting one. Why not enjoy a few more drinks whilst you’re there?
An ideal way to start your weekend, the only downside is that it’s not served all week. With brunch served for just a 2 hour window on a Saturday, we recommend booking in advance.
Brunch, Sunday roast, casual drinks, date night, cosy winter nights and sunny summer beer garden days, The Forge fits them all. From the decor to the service, it really is a beautiful pub, and not just in name.
Brunch and all other menus can be found on The Forge website.
The Forge is located on Main Street, Glenfield.
The Forge is part of The Beautiful Pubs Collective, which also runs The Rutland & Derby and Knight & Garter.
We were invited to review brunch at The Forge but were under no obligation to leave a positive review. All opinions are our own.