The other night I went with a friend to my favourite pub in London - Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. I like it because of its fireplace that sends out a smell of cozyness, storytelling and fun when you enter the pub. Also the fact that it is shaped as a maze with numerous smaller rooms, bars and a restaurant adds to this feeling of childish adventure.
It was the first time I ever had anything to eat there - if you are going there for food, there are 2 options. You can sit in the restaurant for a proper meal - i.e. this must include a main. If you are only there for something lighter, the bar at the back has its separate menu.
We went in the back - I had a salad and my friend had chips. As anyone who has ever been out eating with me will know, I am intolerant to a few things and I ordered the salad with no dressing. It came with pesto, which I had to ask the waiter to check the contents of. It was with vegetable oil so I had to send it back.
Vegetable oil, vegetable fat etc. are always like a russian roulette for me. They could be made from rapeseed, which some might see as a less marketable name compared to the generic term vegetable. But they could also be made from sunflowers or a number of other plants, which would cause my face to look like the surface of the moon and my stomach to feel like a rocket was trying to take off in there.
So I told the waiter (in less detail) that I would like one with no kinds of oil or dressing at all and apologised to him for his inconvenience - just because I am in England and I know it's not his fault. And because I hate to trouble other people with my akward needs, but the alternative is never to eat out, and that would be too boring.
Thankfully the staff in that place are always very friendly and helpful. I was once given a tour by the bartender in the front room. Apparently they will sometimes do that if the place is not that full and you ask for it. He told us about this parrot that used to live in the pub for about 40 years as far as I recall. It would drink whiskey and talk to the guests. When it dies, it made the newspapers in countries all over the world - although the ones I saw where all commonwealth countries and I think this was in the early fourties....perhaps it was code for something else?
Whatever the case it was a great story and it is always an experience to go there. So do it. The address is: Wine Office Court, 145 Fleet Street, London, EC4A 2BU
