STEPHEN DAVY-OSBORNE finds

his Friday night favourite is also worth a visit for a mid-week meal

I’m always wary about trying the food in my favourite drinking spots. Mainly because previous experience has taught me that this only ever leads to disappointment and leaves a black cloud over what was once the light at the end of the tunnel of the working week. Thankfully, this proved not to be the case after my arm was twisted to dine at Longs Bar, whiose food menu definitely rivals their popular cocktail menu.

The evening got off to the most bizarre of beginnings after Adver_Tom (who sadly could not dine with us that particular night as he had parish council coverage commitments) insisted on giving me a lift from Adver Towers’ back doors to Longs front door. A journey of some 25 yards. At least I wasn’t late to meet my dining companions of Adver_Sue, Adver_Gill and Adver_Chris.

We skipped the appetisers menu, for the simple reason that it was quiz night for us and we were up against the clock to be elsewhere. This meant passing up the delights of the Longs Friends Platter (£9.95) which is a combo of smoky chilli, tortilla chips, crispy southern fried chicken goujons, homemade potato wedges and chunky beer battered onion rings with a BBQ sauce and our homemade Stoli chilli salsa. Definitely one for next time.

Ordering our mains, Adver_Chris went for the blackened chicken burger (£9.05), which was on a 2-4-1 offer. In the interests of sampling as much of the menu as we could, I turned down the offer of the second, free burger to order the Benvolio Bad Boy burger (£11.05), which came with two 6oz beef patties basted in Bourbon sauce stacked with bacon, American cheese, vine tomatoes and beer battered onion rings, along with a enamel mug of Cajun skin on fries. It was quite the mouthful, and I found myself mocked for eating the towering pile of bun, burger and salad with a knife and fork (with the skewer still in it). If anyone out there has the answer to how to eat a burger in a dignified way, pop your answer on a postcard to me please.

I was the exception to the chicken rule during this meal, with Adver_Sue ordering the stuffed chicken breast (£9.95) and Adver_Gill opting for the blackened chicken salad (£7.95).

A satisfied silence descend on the table as we all dug in. Adver_Gill was suitably impressed with her slate of salad. She commented: “The blackened chicken salad was piquant and fruity, thanks to the addition of pomegranate seeds and fresh chilli and the meat was perfectly charred while still moist. Slices of avocado set it off nicely, but beware – this is a salad that is actually very filling!”

Sticking with the chicken, there was a rare thumbs up from Adver_Chris for his blackened chicken burger, which was made up of two pieces of chicken breast, rubbed in a blend of herbs and spices, and pan-fried, served with salad and mayo, and the mug of fries. While he said he wouldn’t be writing home about it anytime soon, he was perfectly happy with the meal – which regular readers of The Adver will know is a rarity in itself.

I had proper food envy with Adver_Sue’s dish-and-a-half of stuffed chicken though. Listed on the menu as a “handcrafted pan-fried chicken breast stuffed with Stilton and wrapped in pancetta with garlic potato croquettes, asparagus with a white wine cream” it did not disappoint – either me observing, or her eating!

“The potato croquettes were absolutely delicious and the chicken was beautifully cooked,” she said. “It was rather a large portion, but it was really rather nice, and the chicken was very moist and tender.”

We didn’t have time to stay for dessert, so again had to pass on both the chocolate brownie and the sticky toffee pudding (both £3.50) as well as the delight that is Rays Ice Cream from just around the corner on Devizes Road.

With the summer sun just around the corner though, we will definitely be back for dinner come one Friday evening after a long week to enjoy the full delights of the menu - quite possibly in the beer garden, and enjoy the last of the evening sunshine with a bowl of ice cream.

The biggest surprise of the evening though came with the bill, which came in at under £40 for the four of us. This is one bar that is serving up top quality food at pub prices. I'm amazed we managed to get a table - although the secret is out now!

Longs
86-87 Victoria Road, Old Town, Swindon

www.longs-bar.co.uk
Parking: No
Disabled access: No

Our ratings:
Food: 7/10
Choice: 7/10
Decor: 8/10
Customer service: 7/10

Main course prices: around £9-£10

TripAdvisor rating: 3.5