FANCY a steak topped with garlic butter for lunch? How about a juicy burger and fries?
Town centre premier steak restaurant Pendergast’s, which opened at the end of September, has just launched its lunchtime menu and we took time out from work this week to give it a try.
The lunchtime offer is available between midday and 4pm Wednesday to Saturday and includes a starter, a main course and a house drink for £20.
Pendergast's is on Cairo Street (Raymond Jones)
Choosing our starters was tough as they all sounded tempting – slow braised beef croquettes with beer cheese dip, salt and pepper steak strips, sticky chilli buttermilk chicken, smashed roasties and beef gravy or mac and cheese bites.
We ordered the beef croquettes and the sticky chicken and they were equally delicious – we would definitely order them again.
The chicken was crispy and covered in a sweet chilli dipping sauce with fresh chillies and spring onions and the beef croquettes were served hot with a creamy, cheese dip.
Sticky chilli buttermilk chicken
The starters and small plates can be enjoyed on their own with a drink at the bar if you don’t feel hungry enough for the two-course lunch menu.
Chicken Caeser salad, pan fried chalk stream trout with warm tartare or a classic bacon double cheeseburger with fries and house slaw make up the main menu.
We opted for the steak frites – a flattened 6oz rump steak served with French fries and garlic butter - and the bacon double cheeseburger.
What a lunchtime feast!
Steak frites - flattened 6oz rump steak with French fries and garlic butter
The steak frites option comes with a £5 surcharge but it’s well worth the supplement – perfectly cooked pink, chargrilled steak with crispy fries.
The Pendergast’s team tried several meat suppliers and numerous burger recipes to get the perfect combination for the classic dish and then conducted blind tasting to ensure they had the best on the menu.
They’ve definitely landed on the perfect combination – it was one of the best burgers we’ve had in a long time.
It’s a real signature burger.
Bacon double cheeseburger with fries and slaw
You can wash the lunchtime menu down with a glass of house wine, a pint of beer or a soft drink.
The Cairo Street venue situated in all-new development The Hive has a series of special offers running each week in addition to the lunchtime deal including £35 bottomless brunch with free-flowing beers, prosecco, cocktails and soft drinks every Saturday, which includes three dishes from the small plates and side plates menu, steak frites for two and a bottle of house wine for £50 and Sunday roasts with live music on the last Sunday of each month.
Diners can choose from roast beef sirloin, roast pork loin and chargrilled half chicken, which are all served with beef dripping roast potatoes, maple roast parsnip, carrot and swede mash, buttered cabbage, Yorkshire pudding and beef and red wine gravy.
Laura Harvey, one of the business brains behind the Pendergast’s concept, who was keen to bring a feminine side to the traditional steak house image, said: “We’ve had amazing feedback to our menus.
“Of course, people are loving our steaks, but they’re often surprised that we offer a wide selection of mouth-watering small plates and lighter dining options for those who don’t want a huge meal.
“We’re not like other steakhouses - lunch with us doesn’t have to be an expensive occasion.
“Lots of our regular customers come in for coffee and a few of our small plates – whether that’s for a lunch date or a daytime business meeting.”
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