Jervis Arms, Onecote

The Jervis Arms is set in the beautiful Staffordshire Moorlands Peak District, in the village of Onecote. This characterful country pub offers a warm welcome and good quality cooking. There’s a wide choice of hearty pub favourites as well as something a little different.

I sometimes wonder if we’re blessed with almost too many options for eating out here in Staffordshire. The list of places I want to try seems to lengthen daily. Yes, the obsessively orderly part of me means that I actually keep a spreadsheet of them.

There’s new places popping up all the time, isn’t there? Added to that is the fact that I’m a relative newcomer (in my village you’re a probationer for the first twenty-five years) so there’s plenty of long-standing venues I’ve still to check out.

The Jervis Arms in Onecote, until recently, fitted into another category. That’s the category of: we’ve popped in to see what it’s like, enjoyed it, so will go back for a longer visit. Some day.

First visit

Back in February 2018, we’d been out walking the dog. Unplanned, we decided we wanted a quick lunch. Great. Except that it was a Sunday lunchtime and we hadn’t booked anywhere.

I knew that The Jervis Arms had recently been relaunched by new owners and that the menu sounded interesting. Naturally, it was on my list of places to try. Aware it was dog friendly, now seemed as good a time as any for a recce.

However, as expected, when we pushed open the door of the pretty, whitewashed pub, the place was packed.

Fully expecting the answer to be no, we asked if there was any chance of a table for two. Amazingly, the friendly staff kindly squeezed us in, on the proviso that we’d free up the table in an hour. Perfect. All we wanted was one course to refuel us and we’d be on our way.

More than happy with what we ate (in my Facebook post I used the word ‘tremendous’), we were definitely going back for a more leisurely meal one evening.

But, with all that choice in our neck of the woods, we didn’t actually make it until a week or so ago.

The Jervis Arms

Although I never knew the old Jervis Arms, by all accounts the refurbishment undertaken by the new management has transformed it.

The makings of a great country pub were there. The characterful, stone building in it’s village location, the River Hamps flowing through the garden, now accessed from a car park over a wooden footbridge.

Since the takeover, you can add to that some pretty good cooking.

The Menus

Open every day except Monday, there’s a good choice on the menu, including vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes. 

Weekdays 12.00 – 5.00 pm there’s baguettes with salad garnish and chips (the home cured corned beef and the onion pakora with smoked aubergine both caught my eye), or pub favourites like gammon and chips or sausage and mash (all £8.50). Sundays 12.00 – 7.30 pm there’s traditional roasts with some imaginative additions like slow braised beef brisket (£12.50) or ‘bubble & squeak roast dinner’ (£11) plus more pub favourites.

But this was Saturday night, so we had the run of the Main Menu (Tue-Sat 12.00 – 9.00 pm).

Starters

There were eleven starters on the menu with an average price of £5 – £6. They ranged from mixed olives at £4, through homemade soup (£5) and harissa spiced crab (£7), to the most expensive dish, which I chose…

Mushroom Salad

I was taking a chance when I ordered Wild Mushroom, Truffle & Garlic Salad on garlic toasted baguette (£7.50). That’s because, although I do like mushrooms, I can’t abide them under-cooked.

Many an otherwise excellent full English breakfast has been marred for me by the inclusion of barely cooked mushrooms. Even worse is when they look and taste like they’ve had a quick dunk in boiling water with none of the browning that adds so much flavour. And please, don’t even think about giving me a sliced, RAW, mushroom in my salad!

Thankfully, the kitchen at The Jervis Arms had cooked this huge and attractive plate of mushrooms perfectly for my taste.

In the mix, nicely browned, were meaty shiitake, delicate oyster mushrooms and, always lovely to look at, very fine, noodle-like enoki. On top was a fresh, green tangle of pea shoots.

The mushrooms were scattered over and around a chunky piece of toasted bread which had a good, garlicky kick. My only wish was that more of this garlic flavour, quite rightly a classic accompaniment with mushrooms, was a little more evident on the fungi themselves.

The pedant in me also wonders whether shiitake, oyster and enoki are, technically speaking, wild mushrooms? Exotic to most Brits, yes. But presumably these were farmed, or is the word cultivated?

Anyway, I don’t know what the correct term would be to indicate this satisfying mix, but I certainly enjoyed the slippery mushrooms and crunchy bread.

Calamari

Having had loads of seafood, including squid, during our recent stay on Anglesey, I was ready for veg and meat and that was reflected in my menu choices.

However, other half is a real squid fiend so ordered for his first course Crispy Salt & Pepper Calamari (£6.50).

The skewers of battered squid, served with a sweet chilli dip and a garnish of pea shoots, seemed to be one of the most popular starters the evening we were there. I had a good view of the pass and the kitchen seemed to be turning out one of these boards every few minutes.

Having a taste, I found the golden nuggets were skilfully cooked. Their coating was crispy, but inside was properly tender.

We both agreed that the salt and pepper element could have been a little more pronounced. We also thought the drizzle of balsamic reduction, which had also appeared on my mushroom salad, wasn’t really needed.

Main Courses

The Jervis Arms offers eleven main courses (from homemade lasagne with salad and garlic bread at £12 to Monkfish, King Prawn & Crab Bisque at £18.50) plus four salads (£10 – £12) and six more dishes in the grill section of the menu (starting at £12.50 for the Chicken Stack Burger and going up to fillet steak at £27).

The night we were there, the most popular main seemed to be Beer Battered Haddock (£13.50). Waiting staff picked their way through the tables holding aloft plates of the most enormous pieces of battered fish I’ve ever seen. On the side were hand cut chips, garden or mushy peas and homemade tartar sauce.

If I was going back for a one-course, belly buster of a meal, then I’d be tempted to try the Gourmet Burger (£14.50) with pulled pork, bacon, BBQ sauce on a pretzel bun served with a heap of fries and salad garnish.

Lamb

Wherever I am, I always like to eat whatever the area is best at producing. On Anglesey, that means seafood. Back home, it’s local lamb (and beef) I want to see on pub menus.

So it didn’t take me long to choose my main course of Garlic & Rosemary Infused Lamb Rump (£17.50)

Our server had asked whether I wanted the lamb cooked all the way through or left pink. I said pink (obviously) and that was exactly how it came.

The meat was soft with just the right amount of flavoursome fat on it. Regular readers will know that my favourite lamb, from heritage Shropshire Staffordshire breed sheep, comes from TroutsdaleFarm. But the lamb at The Jervis Arms was really rather good too. My only thought was that, for my taste, the garlic and rosemary mentioned on the menu could have been more prominent.

I enjoyed the new potatoes which came in a generous portion and had been lightly browned in fat. The sprouting broccoli and green beans were not-too-soft, not-too-crunchy; exactly how I like them. I thought the shallots were particularly good; caramelized almost to blackness in places, but still nicely sweet rather than bitter.

The accompanying sauce was deeply and meatily flavoured. However, if I hadn’t read it on the menu, I’m not sure I could have detected port in it. On the other hand, I wouldn’t have missed it either. The gravy was still rich and good, so I didn’t leave a smidgen.

Butler Steak

On our first, flying visit to The Jervis Arms, we’d both had the Butler steak. As I’ve mentioned, it was our enjoyment of that meal which prompted us to return. To prove the point, other half again went for the 10 oz Butler Steak (£15).

Butler steak, sometimes referred to by its American name of flat-iron, is one of those cheaper cuts that had fallen out of favour. Thankfully, diners are again learning that the marbling in such steaks is where the flavour is and that an obsessive avoidance of fat is misguided.

However, being from the hard-working shoulder muscle of the animal, butler steak can be a little tough if over cooked. The Jervis Arms sensibly recommends you eat it medium-rare. Other half went one step further and ordered it rare.

As with my lamb, the steak came cooked exactly as requested. Consequently, besides being beefily flavoured it was perfectly tender too.

Alongside came very good chips, half a large, roasted tomato and a few salad leaves. On top was a juicy, flat field mushroom.

Desserts

Desserts are not my favourite part of a meal but, eating out, I do usually like to finish with something sweet. There were seven choices of dessert, but I’m tempted to say I would’ve liked a couple more.

In the middle of a heatwave, I didn’t fancy either of the hot puddings: sticky toffee or ginger sponge. I’m not a fan of chocolate puddings either, so no chocolate cake or chocolate torte for me. So that left cheesecake or a sorbet or ice cream (both £4).

Cheesecake

For me, sorbet or ice cream is a bit of a non-pud when I’m eating out. I usually only order it when there’s nothing else I fancy. Consequently, it was hello to Toffee & Honeycomb Cheesecake (£5,50).

Forgoing the offered cream or ice cream to go with it, I did enjoy the already-creamy cheesecake. I must admit I didn’t eat the toffee sauce though, as it was far too sweet for me.

I was expecting some crunchy bits of honeycomb amongst the creamy sweetness, but they didn’t materialise. Again though, if the menu hadn’t promised honeycomb then I wouldn’t have missed it. And at only £5.50 I don’t think there was much to complain about with this pud.

Chocolate Torte

As I write on virtually every review, if there’s a chocolate dessert going, then other half will almost always order it. So, with two choccie puds here, the only question was, which one would he order?

He went for the Chocolate Torte (£5.50) with ice cream.

As I say, I’m usually no lover of chocolate desserts. I do like chocolate though and know when a pud is a good one. Whereas, with some chocolate cakes and tortes you could close your eyes and almost not know you were supposed to be eating chocolate, this one had a good whack of the dark stuff.

More importantly than my opinion, the chocolate pud lover declared it a good one.

Drinks

As you’d hope and expect from a proper, country pub there’s a good range of alcoholic and soft drinks, spirits and wines. There’s regular and changing ales and The Jervis Arms was named CAMRA’s Staffordshire Moorlands Pub of the Season in Spring 2019.

With our meal, we enjoyed a pint of local Staffordshire Gold (£3.70) from the Staffordshire Brewery.

Value For Money

Without drinks, our food bill came to £57.50 or just under £29 per head.

Given that I had the most expensive starter and one of the higher priced mains, I think that’s very reasonable. Especially when you consider the good standard of cooking. And if you select from the average priced dishes then you’re probably looking at £2-£4 less per head.

Recommended

All the work put in by the new owners and staff at The Jervis Arms seems to be paying off. They’re clearly on the right track and, judging by the crowds enjoying their evening when I visited, I’m not the only one who thinks so.

They’ve created a welcoming pub with an interesting and varied choice of hearty, well cooked food. Customer service was good; informal but efficient.

My only word of advice, as a customer, is to ramp up some of those flavours you’ve listed on the menu. Be bolder, so if it says says garlic or black pepper or rosemary, make sure we can really taste it.

Although I’ve finally managed to tick off The Jervis Arms, my list of places to visit hasn’t got any shorter. Because now I have to add their sister venue The Merchant’s House in Longnor.

Recommended.

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ACCESSIBILITY

I’m not aware of a formal access statement for this venue and the following is my subjective impression only. Please note, however, that I’m not mobility impaired so you may wish to contact the venue directly to check whether it meets your own requirements.

There is a step up into the main bar through a standard size door. One of the smaller seating areas has a step down and the tables are closer together in this area. I did not view the toilet facilities so can’t comment as to whether they’re suitable for customers with disabilities.

However, at the time of writing, the About Us page of their website suggests there’s a step-free rear access to the newer dining area, with planned full disabled access toilet facilities.

If you’ve visited this venue and can provide more information useful for people with disabilities, please leave a comment below. If you’re the owner of this venue, I’d be happy to update this post with any further information about accessibility.