‘I ate Tim Martin’s Wetherspoons order – my mouth was on hearth and one factor was lacking’
EXCLUSIVE: What happens when you go to Wetherspoons three times in a day and eat every meal there? Well you’re set to have quite a blissful day sampling some of the finest pub grub
I took on the challenge of eating Sir Tim Martin’s “dream order” from one of his Wetherspoons pubs.
The bargain boozer mogul sat down with this publication last month and, among many things, discussed with us what his dream order would be from Wetherspoons. Tim would start the day with “a small breakfast – the breakfast of the gods.”
He added: “For lunch I’d have a southern fried chicken wrap with a salad, and in the evening I’d have fish and chips – if I’m allowed – if not I’d have steak and kidney pie, which is less calorific.” Let’s just note at this stage Tim isn’t having all three meals on the same day, but we thought we’d do just that – just because why not?
With the sun beating down on a blissful early April day, our course was set fair for Spoons Day. Our location would be The Ledger Building in Canary Wharf – with nothing but an expenses form and a can-do attitude we headed down.
We began of course with the small breakfast, delighting in the serried ranks of the English Breakfast celebs assembled on our plate. A fried egg, a Lincolnshire sausage, some baked beans and a hash brown. No toast unfortunately which felt incomplete, but not to worry I had a long day of excess ahead.
A couple of hours later I returned for lunch. Tim, who walks most places rather than get transport, has a reasonably healthy southern fried chicken wrap and salad as his second meal of the day. Well played.
Did we enjoy it? It was splendid – the perfect lightish bite following the breakfast we were still a bit full from. The only thing was a rather spicy sauce that accompanied it which was almost too much to handle.
But – are we really going to complain about spicy discomfort on a national news website and undermine our reputation for being steely-eyed tabloid journalists? Of course we’re not, it was absolutely fine. Keep it coming please.
Dinner swung round before we could say “fish and chips to table 162, please” and there we were facing down our final meal of the day.
Tim says he’ll only eat the British classic “if he’s allowed”, on occasion trading in the battered cod for the less calorific steak and ale pie.
We were keen to finish with a flourish however, so fish and chips (with mushy peas) it was. This was of course accompanied by Tim’s favourite pint: Abbot Ale.
Although the first two meals had star quality in droves, the third was the coup de grace. You just can’t go wrong with fish and chips can you? Every bite – except the last which was tinged with sadness – was a dream. I nearly cried. Wetherspoons is just a great, dependable, restaurant and pub really.
