The Dog and Pickle

from Inside Flintshire 2 Magazine August 2023

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We decided to visit the brand-new rebranded pub ‘The dog and Pickle ‘, which is situated on Chester road in Lavister, it was previously known as The Nag’s head but closed down and has been empty since last September.

The new owner originally remained anonymousness which led to rumours that Wrexham AFC co-chairmen Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney had bought the venue this has since been denied with the new owner conﬁrmed.

The pub is only one of two pubs in the UK named The Dog and Pickle and the owner strives for it to be seen as a modern gastro pub, they have a great team of experienced chefs with some even working in Michelin star restaurants!

The pub has an extremely modern feel to it with wood ﬂoors, high ceilings with beautiful beams, muted toned panelled walls and lots of of quirky corners with ﬂower walls and fairy lights to set the scene, it really would not have been out of place in Chester town centre.

There is a lovely outside seating area and a gazebo which we decided to take full advantage of as it was an extremely hot and humid day, although it was a Sunday and the roasts looked amazing we decided we would rather choose something off the regular menu which was not a problem for the restaurant.

We noticed immediately the abundance of staff ready to serve us so knew the service would be good. We ordered a cider to quench our thirst whilst we read through the menu. We both decided to try the ﬂatbreads for starters as we had seen people on the next table have them and they smelt divine.

As predicted the service was quick and our flatbreads were served looking amazing, we had opted for the Goats Cheese Flatbread which did not disappoint, it was scattered with chunks of beetroot, sun blushed tomatoes and olives and then finished with gooey melted Goats cheese. We had also gone for Confit garlic hummus flatbread which was equally nice and was served separately with a pot of hummus, olives and sun-dried tomatoes. The portions were huge and we agreed we probably should have shared a flatbread rather than have one each but we both thoroughly enjoyed them.

The main course did not disappoint the Handcrafted pie of the day was braised beef and ale and had a crispy homemade pastry top, it contained tasty warming chunks of beef that melted in your mouth and rich ale gravy. It was served with beautiful slow roasted root veg which was well seasoned and extremely tasty, creamy mash and rich homemade gravy completed the comforting lunch.

We were definitely going traditional as we also opted for Beer Battered Cod fillet served with triple cooked chunky chips and a generous portion of minted mushy peas. The Beer batter was crispy and delicious and encased the delicate white fish perfectly and the golden extremely chunky triple cooked chips were simply to die for!

Unfortunately, we did not try any of the beautiful desserts as the portions were extremely generous but agreed we would deﬁnitely return soon to sample one!