I’d had The Anchor in Aspley Guise as a dog-friendly pub on my radar for a while. But it wasn’t till the last May Bank Holiday we managed to visit. And so glad we did.
Exposed bricks and wooden panels, floor to ceiling windows, a touch of teal tiling make the interior both contemporary cool and cosy welcoming at the same time. On a sunny day, your best bet is to grab a table by the French windows to bask in the sunshine.
On the day we visited we were lucky enough to meet Dougal, the pub’s free-range Golden Retriever who was busy wandering around greeting the diners and making sure the floor was spick and span clean.
The Anchor is the perfect place to start the day, with tasty breakfast dishes served daily between 9.00 and 11.30. There’s a wide variety too, including Eggs Benedict to Smashed Avocado on Toast, and of course the faithful full English.
As per usual, I opted for the Full English while Mr. O ventured to have Cumberland Sausage and Egg. The food is delicious but if I’ve got to be fussy, I wasn’t too keen on the cocktail sausage servings! Perfectly bite-sized for Doodles, not so much for a full-grown human with a healthy appetite.
In the mood for a little cheekiness in celebration of our wedding anniversary, with the permission of the proprietors, we hijacked the chalkboard too!
Enjoying post-breakfast mochas, we stayed long enough to meet the lunch crowd. The beauty of The Anchor is it is the kind of place you can nurse your drink for a couple of hours and enjoy the ambiance.
A sneak peek at the lunch menu doesn’t disappoint either – options are just as enticing, with a wide range, from light sandwiches to old school favourites such as classic burgers and fish and chips. Starters include Wild Mushrooms on Toast, with main courses featuring Sticky Seeded Salmon, Turmeric Roast Veg Jalfrezi or Slow Cooked Pork Belly.
Outside, the small courtyard is not big but sizeable enough to host around 20 people on warmer days. And if our breakfast turned to three-hour chill out session is anything to go by, The Anchor is easily the sort of place you can easily while away a lazy summer afternoon, doggie in tow or not.
