This article posted on
August 9, 2008 at 10:42 am
With its cream
coloured paint, wooden fascia and a few hanging
baskets Thorns Inn looks like any other pub - apart
from the giant orange mural of Elvis Presley and
Tina Turner the pubs’ owners painted on the wall of
the building next door.
It’s certainly
eye-catching from the road and sets the scene
perfectly for a pub which is a homage to everything
rock ‘n’ roll.
There’s almost
a feeling that the owners would like to be running a
trendy bar or diner in Los Angeles in the height of
the swingin’ sixties.
Turning from
the giant painting the pub itself is completely
ordinary with the usual fruit machines, until you
catch sight of a giant mechanical punch bag straight
out of a travelling funfair.
You could
almost imagine a group of leather-jacket clad
motorbikers who have been brought forward in time
from the 1950s hanging out there, hitting the
punchbag to impress the girls before tucking into
portions of food big enough to feed a small army.
And judging by
the number of tables that were reserved at 7pm on a
normal Monday night, that was what the chef was
expecting.
It was only
when we went through to the lounge that it hit us
just how popular this place is.
The main dining
area was heaving with people. Families, couples,
lone pensioners and mates from work were all tucking
into the most enormous portions of food I have ever
encountered in this country.
Everyone was
quite comfortably just getting on with the business
of eating, so much so that the conversations dropped
to almost a whisper.
And judging by
the size of some of our fellow diners, the pub’s
staff certainly learned to cater for some big
appetites.
The Thorns
appears to have everything you could possibly want
from a local pub if its blackboard adverts are
anything to go by. Quiz nights, 80s discos, karaoke,
live bands, comedians and even a Wednesday lunchtime
sing-along.
A photograph of
the late comedian Bernard Manning performing there
still hangs affectionately in the corridor while
portraits of Elvis, Elton John, Rod Stewart and Cher
cement the pub’s underlying rock ‘n’ roll theme.
Classic tunes
from the 60s played in the background while everyone
tucked in while the disco lights around the stage
remained lit, ready it seemed for an impromptu
outbreak of boogieing on down.
Decor wise the
pub is an odd mix. The wall area is given over to
American diner style curved booths while the rest of
the room is kitted out with plain wooden tables and
chairs which don’t match each other.
Everyone coming
back from the carvery had their plates loaded
absurdly high while several little boys seemed to
take two or three Yorkshire puddings that were each
so large they could double up as a life raft. And
there is plenty of choice too. We could have opted
for the £4.99 carvery, which is £3.99 at lunchtime
and £5.99 on Sundays, and that appeared to be the
decision most of our fellow diners took.
Instead I
decided to try one of many steaks on offer, a 10oz
ribeye for £7.99 while my partner went for
traditional faggots and peas at £4.99.
Coupled with a
pint of Banks’s and a J20, the pub had run out of
Diet Pepsi, the price came to a very reasonable
£16.88.
Unfortunately
the pub does not accept any form of credit or debit
card forcing me to resort to the extortionate cash
machine in the bar, charging £1.99 per withdrawal.
As for the
meals coming out of the kitchen the majority were
greeted simply with “Oh my God” by the diners who
had completely failed to prepare themselves for the
onslaught of food.
I asked for my
steak medium rare, and that’s exactly how I got it -
a treat in Britain, where we seem obsessed with
cremating meat.
My plate was
loaded to breaking point by chips, onion rings and a
generous salad while my partner assured me her mash
potatoes were deliciously buttery and the faggots
suitably huge.
Desserts are
£2.95 and we decided to force some down. We had a
chocolate pudding and a sticky toffee pudding. They
are all undeniably fattening but any diets would be
thrown to the wind by the main course anyway.
There’s no
question that the Thorns is a superb local pub and
any town or village would be lucky to have it. As a
good quality, cheap treat for the family, perhaps
after a day spent trawling the Merry Hill centre a
mile up the road, it’s absolutely perfect.
The carvery
served seven days a week, 12-8pm Monday to Saturday
and 12noon to 6pm Sunday
Breakfast is
served 8.30am to 11am - as much as you can eat for
£3.95, Monday to Saturday.
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