Review of 'The Reg'
The 13th century defensive Reginald's Tower is located on the southern bank of the River Suir in Waterford. Nestled behind the tower is the rather large, but welcoming, “The Reg” pub which we found by consulting Mr. Google for places to eat in the area having just visited the crystal factory down the road. Inside the pub is a series of rooms of varying sizes with wooden floors and an eclectic mixture of furniture and pictures on the walls such as an assortment of grandfather clocks nailed the ceiling above the bar.
Despite it being the middle of the afternoon the place was busy. We were shown to bar-style seating near the bar area near to some televisions showing, predictably, football which we were able to largely ignore for our stay. The menu serves up predictable pub grub but with a bit more class than a normal pub including use of local seafood and produce. It is divided into “Starters, Snacks & Salads”, “Roasts & Grills”, “Seafood”, “Vegetarian” and “Sides”. Hungry we decided to go for both starters AND mains…
I started with something I find hard to resist, despite being often disappointed in the past: “Salt and Pepper Calamari” (€10.50; “Served with Garlic Aioli & Lemon”). The small portion of calamari rings were lightly battered, not greasy and the aioli was tasty as a dip.
My companion had the “Homemade Soup of the Day” (€7.00; “Served with Treacle Bread and Irish Creamery Butter”) which was tomato. The soup and bread were quite nice and refreshing, with a smaller portion, perfect for a starter.
My main was the “Fresh Dunmore East Mussels & Chips” (€18.00; “Fresh Mussels in White Wine and Garlic Cream, Parsley and Lemon, House Cut Chips”) which were absolutely wonderful. The good sized portion of delicious, plump mussels had a wonderful sauce that, if anything, was bit excessive as I left a good sized soup portion of it when I was done. The chips were perfectly cooked, yes, crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, served piping hot and in a small bowl.
My companion's main was the second most expensive item on the menu “Pan Fried Fresh Hake” (€23.00; “Served with Saffron Sauce, Medley of Vegetables, Creamy Mash Potato” - the 10oz sirloin steak was most expensive at €28) which was served on a bed of vegetables including tenderstem broccoli. It was a huge portion but very good indeed.
While I continued to fiddle with my mussels my companion went off exploring, delighting in the small rooms which each seemed to have their own personality. Even old-style toilets with tiles and exposed plumbing.
Our meal came to £100.10, what, hang on, what's this? It turns out the neighbour's bar tab got added to ours so after pointing this out our server was quick to adjust the bill to a more reasonable €63, considering we each had two courses and a (single) soft drink (€3.50 for the tiny coke bottle). Note that the bill did not include a service charge.
Excellent, friendly service in a fun, relaxing environment in a great location with an amazing, reasonably priced, menu.
Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”
Review Date: 2023-09-16
Cuisine: Pub
Address: 2 The Mall, Waterford, X91 W866, Ireland
Location: County Waterford (Ireland) - Waterford
Map:
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Telephone: +353 51 583 000
URL: https://thereg.ie/