Winter wine update

In the month of December over 1000 Mulled wines were sold as our ‘winter drinks’ were launched!! All the hot drinks have been well received but the classics are the most popular such as the Hot Toddy, Irish coffee and the Winter Pimms. The newly invented ‘Woolly Bully’ is proving a winner too. So if you are feeling cold you know where to come!! (Please click on drink then winter drinks for the list)

Talking of wine, we have introduced the very popular Spanish Sauvignon Blanc from the Rueda region to our wine list in January. Vina Mocen has been one of our most popular ‘shipped in’ wines and offers an alternative to the Chilean and New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs already on the list.

I have noticed that not many of our customers are going French with our Muscadet and I do believe maybe we got the pricing wrong!! So I have dropped the price from £18.50 to a more sensible £15.95 which is an excellent deal for lovers of this classic delicate French dry white which is made from the grape called ‘melon de Bourgogne’. This Burgundy grape was brought to the Loire Valley in the 17th Century. The grape is known for its robustness in the winter and especially against frosts. The grape nowadays is called Muscadet in the area and the wine is perfect with our homemade fish pie.

We have sold all our stock of Sancerre so while the coolness of winter is still in the air I have chosen not to replace it. We will next be focussing on our white and pink selection ready for spring/April.

The reds are having their moment as you would expect at this time of the year and I am delighted to see, at the top end of the list, the fantastic Valenciso Rioja doing so well. The red list has not changed for the winter as we firmly believe all tastes and price budgets are catered for. The Macia Batle Mallorcan wine which has been a regular ‘ship in’ over the last couple of months has been a very popular ‘not on the list’ wine and is a favourite to be included on the spring list as it suits the summer as well as the winter.

VAT changes have NOT been passed on to our customers I am pleased to say. Price points are sensitive and we do not want to breach these barriers. Please click on drink then wine to review the list and please advise us of any wines you feel we should be doing.

Events update!!!

Just to let everyone know that the forthcoming events at the Bulls Head have been changed somewhat so please go to our events page for confirmation of new timings. The next event up is Robbie Burns food and whisky evening which will feature specials from north of the border as well as a ‘wee dram’ of your choice from the range of Malts from the whisky ‘bible’.

Then there is Valentine’s Day on Monday 14th February 2011. Fancy dinner in the wonderful atmosphere that is the Bulls Head by candlelight!!?? Enough said.

Remember too that every other Sunday our resident band ‘Smoooth’ (yes with three o’s) will be playing music from the ‘great American songbook’ between 2pm and 5pm. Stewart and Laurie AKA ‘Smoooth’ have enjoyed rave reviews since they took up the Sunday slot .

Lord Ted’s quiz is booked for every OTHER Thursday in January, February and March  starting no earlier than 9pm.

If you’re not keen on quizzes either come early on the Thursday the quiz is on or come on the Thursdays there is no quiz.

If you are Lord Ted fan and/or  love quizzes then the best advice is to get here early so you may  eat, drink and then do the quiz!!

‘Made in Italy’ week is being put back to replace Ale and Game week commencing on 21st February through to 27th February inclusive. We felt that Game and Ale week would, because of seasonality, be better this coming Autumn 2011.

Pie and Ale week will be still on National Pie week starting 7th March 2011 and should not be missed!!!

Please keep an eye on the ‘events’ page for updates as and when they happen.

Written by the AA Gill of Cheshire……on the Bulls Head!!

We had an excellent time at the Bull’s Head the other week. Here’s a little review of everything as we experienced it. ‘A’ hadn’t been to Mobberley before (whereas I have) so everything I write is a rambling mixture of two brains output.

Exterior – first impression
A fantastic little spot with a healthy sense of ‘getting away’. Happy almost theme-park like atmosphere: two pukka-looking pubs sitting next to each other down an idyllic little lane.

Interior – first impression
Very welcoming although perhaps a little dark by contrast with daylight but far from detrimental. Modern yet rustic-feeling, fresh yet warm.  Lots of points of interest. Bar was bustling  and friendly. Plenty of character to the presentation of all the bottles and wares behind it. Hordes of customers. Makes you feel like you’ve picked a good place to eat and drink.

Staff – first impression
Well-presented. Was there a loose uniform going on? If there was, it was perfectly pitched. ‘A’ says the lads were attractive. Well, so were the waitresses, awwwww yeeaaahh!!

Menu
As with all menus, we think there has probably been a lot of mental effort involved in choosing what to offer. The Bulls Head does it better than most by providing contrasting dishes as part of a smaller number of offerings. I imagine it makes it easier for the Bulls Head to manage stock/processes, but I think punters are more likely to pick something they’ll consider to be the best choice, so when they’re eating they’re less likely to regret their choice and perhaps more likely to come away with  a sense of wishing to return.

Settling in for food
Very animated, very warm demographic of customers. Our Tables and chairs were comfy. We specifically liked the candle light. Everything reinforces the sense one has picked a good spot for ‘din dins.’

The food itself
I had the lamb. I have to say it was as good as, if not better than any lamb I’ve had before, including the excellent dish at the Hanging Gate near Macclesfield  that up to now I’d cite as the best. The meat was superbly cooked, and not over-seasoned like it often is, with a very pleasant jus (not sure how that’s spelled – this is probably the first time I’ve ever had cause to write it). Being of an appetite one would typically expect from  – if you’ll pardon the term – a rampaging fat *******, I would have enjoyed a bit more veg, especially the mash, but I expect that for a normal person it’s actually very well pitched in terms of quantity. The chips were MEGA. ‘A’ had to stop me ordering a second portion.
Her main was the ‘warm’ version of the fish platter for two. She was very satisfied with its quality. I can’t resist crunchy deep-fried things, so I sampled it quite thoroughly in the end and thought it was great.
Dessert-wise we thoroughly enjoyed the brownies but we didn’t think they were the best. We like a chewy aspect to them, preferably with a crispy edge or some nuts. The ones we had were a little too smooth for our tastes. The ice cream, however, was heavenly. The strawberries were very good, too. I’d guess 19/20 of the strawberries I find on chocolate desserts are tasteless and not really much more than an afterthought. Yours were crisp and flavoursome. These little things shout “we care about every little aspect” louder than getting just the main details correct. Bravo.

The service
We go out a lot. Well, perhaps less so of late (thanks to the ineptitude of the oligarchy) but we consistently write places off as venues we’ll never revisit because of shitty service. So often we are faced with oblivious, uncaring teenagers or overly-tired, stressed-out landlords and even with the best intentions and understanding, it does put one off.
I am happy to report that the service at the Bull’s Head is MILES ahead of the rest. A very well done!!! I have not seen teenagers as motivated or sincere as your staff in an eatery/pub for a very, very, long time. This is by far the biggest factor for people like us, and you’ve nailed it.

The price
Considering the quality of everything we think it is fairly priced.

Final impressions
Thorough enjoyment, genuine satisfaction, we shall return.

Comparisons
Easily competes with all my favourite venues, including the more special places in the Lake District.

Recommendations
Open a venue in the Lake District!

Notes
Regrettably I could not hoover the bar for beer on this occasion (driving) but I have recently discovered a fondness for port and was very excited to find you focusing on it. Dog’s teeth that 1968 is good (though it seemed a little more like a sherry than a port even though I have no doubt it’s actually a port if you say it is). I had it after the brownie/toffee ice cream combo, and cannot wait to repeat the decadence.

Apologies for the stream of consciousness but I wanted to make sure I completed the review before its context died completely.
Excellent pub, well done =)

A&A

Cask Ales hit the mark!!!!

Having studied the sales statistics for the Month of December 2010, I am delighted to announce that our cask ales made up 80% of our draught beer sales with the rest…20% being the ‘fizzy stuff’ and Guinness!! You may remember back in the early days soon after we opened  we reported a split of 55% Cask ale versus 45% Fizzy. Well things have moved on greatly, 80% is a huge number and really shows what our customers want.

I am delighted with this news as there is nothing typifies a pub more than fresh cask ale!! We would like to thank all our customers for supporting our ‘famous five’ pumps which celebrate and recognise local Cheshire Ales from some fantastic micro-breweries within a 30 mile radius of the pub. Bulls Head bitter remains the best seller with Mobberley Wobbly Ale a close second. Our winter ale 1812 Overture is being enjoyed by many of you too. Come and enjoy a pint or two and let us know which beers you like the most!!

Happy New Year!!! 2011.

As I write this update to everyone my head is somewhat sore!!!

Anyway a very Happy New Year to all our customers and our team!!!

A massive thanks to all our guests who joined in the New Year festivities at the pub last night and to our team who did a brilliant job!! A few are caught on camera here…. sorry they are a little blurred!!! A great night was had by all and as the bell tolled to bring in 2011 Shane, our Landlord, delivered a great firework display (thanks to John for supplying the fireworks…very kind!!) then as the fizz and whiskies flowed a small bowl of freshly made chicken curry was served on the house to the party attendees. It was great to see everyone enjoy themselves in their local village pub!!! As we are a relatively new pub (we have now been open 7 months) every day is a new day and we learn from our experiences. New Year’s Eve at the Bulls Head will become, over the years ahead,  a great traditional celebration at ‘the pub’.

Here’s to 2011 !!

 

 

 




DOT.COM PRESENT FOR THE BULLS HEAD PUB!!!!

Happy New Year to all our customers may 2011 be a great year of good health and prosperity!!

The Bulls head got a great Christmas ‘present’ as our web company Netspace secured the ‘dot.com’ web address for the Bulls Head Pub!! So you can now visit us on www.thebullsheadpub.com . We are very proud to have captured this web address as it suits the unique-ness of our pub!!!

We hope you are enjoying the website and please do register for news and events updates as they happen by heading for the home page and registering in the box.

Here’s to a great year ahead!!

A great Christmas was had by all!!

A big thanks to all our customers for supporting the Bulls Head over the festive period.

Despite the freezing weather and icy roads so many of you managed to enjoy food and drink with us!!

Christmas Eve and Christmas day were particularly special for all of us in the ‘new’ Bulls Head.

Here’s to New Year’s eve please check our events section for details. Happy New year!!!!!

BBC 2 love Mobberley Wobbly Ale!!!

The Bulls Head was contacted by BBC 2 for a show starring Oz Clark and actor/comedian Hugh Dennis (pictured)!! They had found out about our now famous Mobberley Wobbly Ale and it’s aphrodisiac qualities!!!

They wanted to drink the beer on the show which is about great British food and drink. They were on a tight time schedule in the northwest and tried to get our great beer to the Manchester Beer festival but the organisers couldn’t fit it in!!??

So we said the only way to sample Mobberley Wobbly is to drink it proudly in the Bulls Head in the village of Mobberley, as you cannot get it anywhere else!!! Weetwood the brewers of ‘Mobb Wobb’ refused to giveaway the recipe when the BBC rang them!!

So Oz and Hugh you will have to come back later in the series for a pint or three!! The first pint is on us, boys!!

Warm up this winter!!! Our winter warmer drinks are doing the trick!!

We have launched our ‘nostalgic winter drinks’ here at the Bulls Head and they are certainly going down a storm in this cold weather. Top seller at the moment is our home made ‘Mulled Wine’ followed by our ‘Irish hot toddy’ and our own ‘Woolly Bully’.

There are many more to chose from as you can see from the board!!

So if you are feeling cold and want the perfect reason to get warm then come to the ‘Bulls Head’ this winter and enjoy some nostalgia with us!!!

Click here to view the winter drinks board

JENNY ADDS SPICE TO LORD TEDS QUIZ!!!!

 

The long awaited ‘Jenny’s Christmas curry night’ went ahead with great success….we would like to thank all the loyal customers old and new who turned up in great numbers, on what was a freezing cold icy night,to enjoy Jens famous South African lamb curry as well as a special Thai green Chicken curry and Lentil with spinach curry served with spiced potato and ‘sambals’.

As you will see from the photos Mary was on hand to to taste Jens dishes with yours truly!!! I have to say they were great!! The curries ensured everyone was ‘warmed up’ ready for ‘Lord Teds’ Quiz which happens every second Thursday from 9pm. (please check our website for updates).

Shane gave Lord Ted a hug (see above) to thank him for travelling through the snow to be with us or maybe the hug was to keep both of them warm!!!

Watch out for the events page as there will be another ‘Tastes of the East Night’ in the new year!!!

A massive thanks to Jenny for spending a lot of time in the kitchen on Thursday and to Lloyd for letting her in!!!! We had a great time as I am sure all our customers did too.