The Black Dog, Waltham Chase, 31st March 2016

We previously visited the Black Dog in July 2014 and as it won Pie Club Pub of the year for it's delicious Sausage, Bacon & Black Pudding Pie we decided it was time to have a return visit to see if it had maintained its' high standards.

Several of our members are on a bit of a health kick, so they built up a bit of an appetite and a thirst by walking the 2 or 3 miles to the pub. On arrival we were given a warm welcome by the Landlord Peter and the Bar Staff and offered a good choice of ales which we were keen to try after the exertions of the walk!

There was the Black Dog Bitter 3.9%, Greene King IPA 3.6%, Cosmic English Pale Ale from the Black Hole Brewery (a new one to us) 4.2% and Abbot Ale 5%. We all started with Black Dog Bitter (except for our Guinness member) and it was very pleasant indeed. All the beers we tried were well kept and very drinkable.

Now for the main business of the day, the pie, which was a Minted Lamb and Spring Vegetable pie, perfect for this time of the year.

Although it was covered with green stuff, when Peter explained that this was actually pea shoots to compliment the peas in the pie, we were duly impressed with the thought that had gone into the preparation of this pie.
It was served with mixed vegetables and chips, with extra gravy served separately in a jug, just how we like it! Some of us would have liked a choice of potatoes, e.g. mashed, but it looked good and we could not wait to get stuck in!

The pie filling was delicious with very tender lamb and tasty spring vegetables. The short crust pastry was also excellent - not at all soggy. Some of us felt that the mint flavour was a bit overpowering whilst others felt it added to the taste of the pie - suppose it depends whether you like a lot of mint with your lamb or not! The vegetables were all nicely cooked, and all too soon our plates were clear.

Most of us had room for, and were attracted to the excellent choice of puddings.

We all thought the pie was excellent and standards were as high as on our last visit. Peter and his staff were very hospitable, there was a pleasant ambience and the service was very good.

Scores (max of 5 in each category, 25 overall)

• Pastry 4.65
• Filling  4.57
• Beer    4.28
• Ambience 4.46
• Value 4.35
• Overall 22.31

Congratulations to Peter and all the staff at The Black Dog this puts you into the number 1 spot at the present time with a score marginally below the 22.34 scored in 2014. There is a long way to go yet before the 2016 award but this will take some beating.

2014 Pie Club Pub of the Year Award

After another year of dedicated devotion to duty in 2014, 10 of the gentlemen members of the Pie Club gathered together on 26th February 2015 at The Black Dog, Waltham Chase for a formal presentation to Peter, the Landlord, of the 2014 Pie Club Pub of the Year certificate, in recognition of the outstanding Sausage, Black Pudding and Bacon Pie which we enjoyed there on 27th November 2014. 

Peter seemed very pleased very pleased to receive the award, and wasted no time in displaying it in a prominent position next to the bar. Quite an understandable reaction when you think about it.

To celebrate the occasion we had a few beers and enjoyed another excellent pie - this time it was a Game Pie. It was another very good pie and served to maintain this pub's reputation as a provider of top-quality pies, but in accordance with Pie Club traditions we viewed this outing as a celebration of past achievements, so did not subject this pie to the usual scrutiny and assessment.  We just enjoyed it instead.

Congratulations to Peter, and the chef, and long may you continue to maintain such high standards. 

The Black Dog, Waltham Chase, 27th November 2014

Having been turned away by one of our local pubs, we felt the need to go somewhere where we would be rather more welcome so for our November outing we returned to The Black Dog, our third visit to this very popular pub in Waltham Chase. Our first visit to this pub (in July 2011) was okay but we felt that there was some room for improvement. When we visited again in October 2012, soon after the current landlord (Peter) had taken over, we found that it was much better, so this time we wanted to see if Peter had continued to improve the place as he said he would.

Several of our members are still on a bit of a health kick, so they built up a bit of an appetite and a thirst by walking the 2 or 3 miles to the pub. On arrival they were given a warm welcome by our hosts, Peter & Kathy, and offered a good choice of ales, some of which were new to us:

There was Black Dog Ale 3.8%  from a mystery brewery in Trent, Brains' Reverend James 4.5%, and York Brewery's Guzzler 3.6%, as well as Green King IPA. The Black Dog Ale was a smooth dark ale, very drinkable, but after a long walk several of us preferred the Guzzler, which was a light hoppy ale. Both beers were in very good condition and served well.

Now, for the main business of the day, the pie, we were in for a special treat! The chef had prepared for us something which we had never experienced before - A Sausage, Bacon & Black Pudding Pie! A few of us expressed some doubts about the wisdom of eating such a thing, but when the pies were served up we all agreed Who Dares Wins!

We couldn't help noticing that it was covered in green stuff, but despite that it was a superb looking pie and we couldn't wait to get stuck in. It was served with mixed vegetables and a choice of chips or mashed potatoes, with extra gravy served separately in a jug, just how we like it.

After we had finished loading up our plates with the vegetables and potatoes, the meal looked excellent, and we could barely restrain ourselves (so we didn't).

The pie filling was delicious - moist, with slices of sausage which we think we recognised as coming from a local butcher, bacon adding a salty piquancy, and black pudding complementing the whole ensemble.  In fact the filling was so good that when it came to the scoring, a few members awarded it an unprecedented 5/5. The short crust pastry was also very good. A few members suggested that it might have been better if we had been served individual pies rather than slices from a big pie, but the problem with this is that individual pies tend to have a higher ratio of pastry to filling, making the pie rather dry and stodgy. In this case perhaps we could have done with a slightly more pastry, but when the filling is this good, who cares?  The vegetables were all nicely cooked, and all too soon our plates were clear (and we'd even eaten all the green stuff).

Some of us still had room for puddings, so we chose from the pudding menu and found that the puddings were all up to the same high standard as the pie.

We all thought the meal was excellent, and we really appreciated the effort that our hosts, Peter & Kathy, and the chef made for us.  We would have personally congratulated the chef as we were leaving, but he was nowhere to be seen. The pub itself has a very good ambience (although we did notice some background music playing), and the service was very good. The food and beer very reasonably priced, with the beer at around £3.70/pint, and the pies at £9.95, so we felt it was very good value for money. Surprisingly, after such a good lunch, we managed to walk all the way back to Bishops Waltham, and finished up in The Crown, but that is another story. 

Scores (max of 5 in each category, 25 overall):

• Pastry 4.44
• Filling 4.74
• Beer 4.43
• Ambience 4.03
• Value 4.7
• Overall 22.34

Congratulations to Peter & Kathy - we can see that you have put a lot of hard work into improving this pub, and your efforts have paid off. Your score puts you straight in at number 1 in our charts, a whole 0.02 points clear of the previous leader, and puts you in a very strong position to scoop the "Pie of the Year" award this year. And please pass on our congratulations to your chef.  

The Black Dog Inn, Waltham Chase, 27th September 2012

In a rare break with tradition we decided to re-visit the scene of one of our earlier outings,  The Black Dog Inn at Waltham Chase.  Our previous visit on 28th July 2011 was not altogether unenjoyable and the pies scored a commendable 19.65.  We'd heard that the pub had gone through a recent change of ownership, employed a new chef, and had a new menu, so we thought it was worth a return visit.

It being a pleasant autumnal day we thought that a good walk there and back would help us all to work up a good thirst and a healthy appetite, so off we all went.  Joe and Paul E met up at at  The Crown (if they had a quick pint there first they're keeping quiet about it) then set off at a brisk pace on the 2.1 mile walk to The Black Dog. Nick & Si set off from their homes at about the same time, saw Joe & Paul a few yards ahead, and struggled to catch up with them as they seemed to be doing some power-walking. Or were they just thirsty? Certainly they seemed to speed up as we got closer to the pub. We all walked straight past  The Chase Inn without any hesitation as it seems to be a particularly uninviting pub. We met up with Doug near his home in Swanmore, and met Paul T joined us in the Black Dog.

This is still a very pleasant pub, with large well looked-after gardens, two covered heated gazebos for the smokers, lots of beautiful hanging baskets, and a warm welcome inside from Peter, the new landlord, who has obviously made a considerable effort to improve the place.

This being a Greene King pub, there was, of course, Greene King IPA 3.6% available on tap. Tempted as we were by this fine ale, we couldn't help noticing some other interesting ales on offer.   There were two another Greene King ales, Abbott Ale 5%, which we felt was probably a bit strong for a session ale, and Bonkers Conkers IPA 4.1%, a seasonal ale. The guest ale was Everards Equinox 4.2%. The ales were all priced at around £3.40/pint, which is reasonable. 

We decided to start by sampling The Equinox and the Bonkers Conkers out in the garden, then, as we were getting a bit peckish, we moved indoors and had another one while we waited patiently for the food to arrive.

As we were waiting, and without any asking, the delightful waitress, Chelsea, brought us a warm baguette with butter for us a share as an appetiser. We thought this was a nice touch.  As there was only one pie available on the menu, we all ordered the same food: Steak & Stilton Pie with chips, watercress garnish, and mixed vegetables, at £7.95 each. Again, the price seemed very reasonable.  When the food arrived, the pie looked very appetising.

The pastry was a lovely golden short-crust on top, with a thin layer underneath that was perhaps a bit too thin as it had gone a bit soggy, although some people like it that way. There was plenty of filling, with large pieces of lean tender steak, plenty of juice with onions and mushrooms, and a thin layer of Stilton on top. Some of us felt that there could have been more Stilton, but there was just enough to add a subtle extra taste to the filling - any more might have been over-powering. Instead of the usual salad garnish, there was a generous helping of watercress, which was much appreciated: Pie Club members are well-known for their liking of healthy foods, and watercress is certainly good for you.

We were presented with two large platters of assorted freshly-cooked vegetables (carrots, cauliflower, mangetout) and chips. These were ample for the 6 of us, nicely cooked, and tasty. We were also given an extra jug of gravy, just as we like.


We all managed to clear our plates with gusto. The servings were generous, but we felt we still had room for a bit more - maybe it was the walk that did it, or maybe we felt we needed to build up our strength in readiness for the long walk back home, or maybe we were just too easily tempted by the pudding boards:

We chose a selection of puddings, all brought to our table by the delightful Chelsea:

Afterwards, we all felt replete. The bill came to £30 each, which, considering the number of drinks we had, is good value for money.

Scores (max. 5 in each category, 25 overall): 

• Pastry 3.7

• Filling 4.55

• Beer 4.31

• Ambience 4.15

• Value 4.27

• Overall 20.98

Our congratulations go to Peter, the new landlord. Compared with the scores from our previous visit, these scores show a considerable improvement, and we wish you well in your new venture.

Unlike our previous visit, this time we all managed to walk back home without resorting to public transport. We walked straight past The Chase Inn without any hesitation again, but stumbled at the next hurdle, The Barleycorn. Then some of us went on and stumbled again at The Crown. And then some of us went on and stumbled again at The Bunch of Grapes.