Location
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The William Wilberforce, Trinity House Lane, Hull, East Yorkshire, HU1 2JD.
Initial Impressions
The William Wilberforce, which is named after the anti-slavery campaigner whose house is nearby, is located in Hull’s Old Town. The venue is a Lloyds No. 1 Bar, which are essentially identical to the J.D. Wetherspoon‘s as they are part of that chain and, indeed, there is a Wetherspoon’s – The Three John Scotts – close by. There is some on street pay and display parking nearby and multi-story car parks too.
The branch was visited on a Saturday lunchtime. It was quiet when entered, with only a few tables occupied, but it had got slightly busier by the time it was left. The chain does not have table service, so you have to find a table, make a note of the number, then go to the bar to order an pay. Should anything else be needed, it is necessary to revisit the bar again, something that is inconvenient for those dining alone, especially when it’s busy.
Cutlery is brought out with the food wrapped in paper napkins. Bottled sauces are available in baskets. The table chosen had not been cleaned properly when it was cleared and the only menu on it was sticky. There is a main dining area downstairs, and an upstairs balcony area with a separate bar that tends to only be opened when the place is busy.
Throughout the week there are a number of different clubs available, where certain food types are available with offers. A range of hot, cold, soft and alcoholic drinks are also available included in the price of some meals, although alcoholic drinks are often £1 extra.
The Food
Two drinks were ordered, a 14oz glass of Pepsi and a San Pellegrino Orange. The Pepsi was included in the price of the main meal ordered – this was one where alcoholic drinks would cost £1 more – and was good as can be expected from a draft soft drink. The San Pellegrino is a sparkling drink which came in a small can and had quite a sharp taste for an orange drink.
Main Course
The main meal ordered was the BBQ Hog Burger. This is available in both beef and chicken, and beef was the burger chosen. The burger itself was served in a bun with lettuce, tomato, red onion, grated cheese, the pulled pork and barbecue sauce and three onion rings, and was held together by a wooden skewer. It was accompanied by another three onion rings and a portion of chips.
The onion rings were made from genuine pieces of onion, not reformed onion. The pulled pork was moist and the BBQ sauce had a slightly smoky flavour to it. The onion rings and chips had both been done properly, without overcooking them. Adding pulled pork to the burger was a bit different from the norm.
Dessert
The dessert ordered was Eli’s Salted Caramel Cheesecake; however, whilst waiting for it after it had been ordered and paid for, a server came over and stated that it was unavailable. As an alternative, the Belgian Waffle with Ice Cream was chose, which is available with maple-flavour syrup or strawberry & blueberry compote. The maple-flavour syrup was chosen.
This was a warm Belgian waffle with two scoops of vanilla ice cream and maple-flavour syrup. The maple syrup used to come in a separate jug; this time it cam already on the waffle. The ice cream did not appear to be one of the better, genuine vanilla, more expensive, types, and the maple syrup is noted as being maple-flavour rather than the more expensive genuine type.
The waffle was nicely warm and the ice cream was still cold. If it had taken longer to arrive after being served up, it would quickly have deteriorated, especially with the maple syrup already being poured on top of it. It was, however, nice, as it was served quickly.
My Review
The cost of the meal including the drinks came to £9.08. Despite the fact that the alternative dessert chosen cost more than the one which was unavailable, no more was charged for it, which was good. The speed of the service at bringing out the main course was a bit slower than would have been expected, given the level of custom and the number of staff apparent, but the dessert, once the new order had been placed, was brought out quickly enough.
The lack of table service, as pointed out earlier, is inconvenient when dining alone. The location wasn’t busy enough on this visit for it to become a problem fortunately.
The cost of the meal was quite reasonable, and the quality of the food was decent enough. The William Wilberforce provides decent food at a decent price, and is not a bad place to visit if in the area.
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