Can you believe that it is April 2020 and we are entering week 4 of official lockdown in the UK? This is actually my fifth week, since work moved us to working from home a week before the government decided that we should really all be staying home and only going out once a day for essentials or exercise. In the time that we have been living in this new normal, cooking and baking has taken the world by storm, panic buying seems to have finally subsided and we've enjoyed a wonderfully hot Easter weekend. I've certainly been enjoying my fair share of cooking but I will admit that the one thing I am missing the most is eating out.
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| Fish and chips from the Valpy Street Takeaway menu. |
Eating out has been a favourite past time of mine for years. There's something about sitting in a restaurant in a lovely setting, eating delicious food, drinking great wine and chatting to friends or family that really makes me feel content. Food brings people together, and I'm well known for not really being able to go out for a few drinks without sneaking at least a few side dishes in to snack on. So when we went into lockdown and the restaurants all closed, I really wondered how I was going to get my fix over the next few months.
Eating out but in
It's has been really great to see independent businesses coming up with new and creative ways to keep trading, from becoming a takeaway, to posting food across the country from online shops, converting into mini shops for essentials and selling each others products. It has been no easy task for some, and quite a few decided instead to close down for the lockdown period. Some have kept going though, and one that seems to be going from strength to strength, and has become my new favourite is Valpy Street Bar and Bistro.
"We are a bar and bistro nestled in the heart of the town, just a minutes walk from Reading Station. We have a real love of all things food, drink and service, and our menu is a blend of classic and modern dishes."
As their website says, they're nestled down a road a few minutes from the train station and every time I have looked online or walked past the building I have been intrigued. It gives off wine cellar and date night vibes, which consequently has meant that pre-COVID19, I had never actually visited Valpy's. Having moved in with my male best friend in October 2018, it always felt a little too cosy for it not to feel a little odd if we went there. So we stuck to more casual vibes and I hoped to go one day in the future.
To date, I have tried Valpy's twice but everything is changing so quickly, that even in the short 2 weeks or so it's been since I first ordered, things have moved on and there are new additions to the takeaway menu, including very well priced wine. It so happens, that I ended up ordering dessert from them initially, after a not-so-great experience when trying to order from another very well known and praised takeaway service (maybe we will come to that another time). In my irritated and ravenous state, I shoved a pizza in the oven as I couldn't wait for another service to arrive, and decided to spend my money on dessert from Valpy instead.
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| The fish comes wrapped in foil lined paper to keep it crispy and hot from the kitchen do your door. |
Just desserts
Ordering was really easy, you simply drop them an email with your name, address, telephone number, order and time that you wish to receive it. Within ten minutes I had a call from Laurence, who took my payment over the phone and confirmed that my order would be with my at the requested time of 8pm. Perfect. I sat and ate my oven pizza in slightly less irritation until 7.45pm.At bang on 8pm there was a knock at the door and so I scrambled for my keys to open it. There on the doorstep was a paper bag with two sticky toffee puddings, as ordered, and Laurence was stood over 6ft away at my garden gate with blue gloves on. We both said thanks (Laurence was super friendly and polite) and I ran back inside to unpack dessert. It smelt delicious, was hot and covered in the most delicious toffee sauce. I thoroughly enjoyed it and may have licked my bowl clean... no shame.
Only a week later, Valpy announced that they had added beer and wine to their takeaway menu, and it all looked a great price, ranging from £7-28 for a bottle of wine, and £10 for a litre of Camden Hells Lager. And after a great, but small, first experience I was keen to give it another go, so after a pretty tough week myself and housemate decided to go all in - 2 mains, a side, 2 dessert and a bottle of wine.
Fish Friday
The menu is pretty varied and they've clearly thought about what they can deliver to your door in good condition via takeaway. I get the impression that it's a well thought through and condensed menu, with nothing in there that they couldn't deliver consistently to all customers, every day of the week. You can get a classic Bourgignon, fish and chips, duck confit, but also a classic burger or Nando's style chicken with peri peri and chicken nuggets. There's something for everyone, including the kids.
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| The chips and peas come separately with a little pot of tartare sauce. |
We settled on two fish and chips, onion rings, two sticky toffee puddings (too good to miss out on) and a bottle of the chenin blanc (admittedly the cheapest on the menu at £7). We ordered in the same way - by email and paid over the phone - a total of £37. We only waited only half an hour for the food to be delivered, once more on the doorstep, piping hot and ready to eat, by a gentleman in gloves and a mask. Just before he ran off I noticed that the wine had been forgotten, but the gentleman was apologetic and ran back to the Bistro to grab the bottle.
The wine was was with us within ten minutes and if I'm honest, I'm pretty happy with this. I often say that the test of a restaurant, cafe or anywhere for that matter, is not that necessarily getting it perfect every time, but how they deal with it when things go wrong. Things will always go wrong at some point, whether you forget the wine, or whatever, and more than ever in lockdown local businesses are under more pressure. When the wine arrived, the man who delivered it was so lovely, apologetic and even made a light-hearted joke which I appreciated. It's these human touches during this time that we need and so thank you Valpy for showing us that even when things don't go to plan you can handle it with grace and a smile.
That batter though...
The food was great, simply put. The fish and chips came with peas and tartare sauce, and I don't know what they put in that fish batter but it was the best fish batter I've ever tasted (sorry Beale's). Batter is usually pretty tasteless and neutral, or even slightly oily, and it's never the star of the plate for me, but this was beyond good. It was almost subtly spiced? I won't even pretend to know how they did it, but they did it good. The eagle eyed amongst you will notice that we got fries, but I'm not complaining. Ultimately, it's about taste, and everything tasted GREAT, plus this is a First World problem during lockdown, if ever I've heard one. I'd have been more fussy had they not also been tasty, plus there are no rules in lockdown - these fries went great with this meal so I was happy.
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| The onion rings didn't stick around long for a picture. |
The onion rings were huge and light - that batter was great again, and the tartare sauce was lovely and both housemate and I ate almost in silence, bar a few words to say how good it was - there were no leftovers but we were stuffed.
The wine was good too, and for £7 I was damn happy. My expectations had been low for that price but I thought it was so cheap it was worth giving a go - we could have paid that much in Tesco but risked getting coronavirus and queued outside for 30 mins before even getting in. I give it a 10/10 for convenience, price and overall a decent house wine. I don't think I need tell you again about the sticky toffee pudding except that I ordered it again... I think that tells you enough.
Lockdown Silver Linings
Valpy is my new favourite, and I can see myself ordering from there a few more times, and depending on how long this lockdown goes on for, maybe even more. This is restaurant food served to your door and I feel like when you need a treat in your life, it is worth every penny. It's easy to order, the selection is good and the staff are lovely. It arrives hot and ready to serve, and you can have a weekend (or weekday) tipple alongside it. It feels safe too, which is really important in this new world we are living in.
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| Sticky toffee pudding and a sauce that I could have a cup of alone. |
You don't have to have Valpy delivered either, you can go and pick it up too if you like and they'll provide you with a contact-free service then too. Simple drive up and they'll pop it into the boot of your car. I haven't done that yet but a friend has and tells me it was great. Valpy Street - Reading's New Lockdown Takeaway - really is nailing this takeaway business and I hope that it continues into the future - I'm only sorry that I left it to 18 months of living in Reading and lockdown before giving their menu a try.
There are a number of other restaurants/cafes which are now doing takeaway too, including Vegivores in Caversham who I have written about in my First Look at Vegivores, Reading - their food is great and they also deliver cake!
There are a number of other restaurants/cafes which are now doing takeaway too, including Vegivores in Caversham who I have written about in my First Look at Vegivores, Reading - their food is great and they also deliver cake!
If lockdown has brought any silver linings, it is that it has provided new opportunities to try things you've never had an opportunity to try before. I saw someone tweet only last week that they had been dying to try something that was only in London (they live in Newcastle) and since lockdown they've been able to order by post for the first time ever, allowing them to try it. And I feel much the same, had this not happened, I may not have tried Valpy's still - trying to see the positives here guys! I'll be sure to go in once this is over too!
Laura
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