I made my second visit to Cleavers in Wokingham for dinner last week and I have to say that I was really impressed with both the service and the food. The restaurant is a chicken, burger & rib restaurant that has opened in the town fairly recently. The chain, part of the larger Prezzo chain, has further restaurants located in Cobham, Leatherhead, Oxford and Billericay.
On both visits to Cleavers, the waiting staff have been very friendly and helpful, making our entire group feel welcome and comfortable.
The decor is both cosy but spacious with a really homely, comfortable feel, perfect for socialising with a group of friends or family. Similarly, there is a lot of ‘finger food’ available, such as ribs, chicken wings and chips, again perfect for sharing in a couple or group.
The drink menu is fairly limited and not particularly cheap, however my Chenin Blanc was delicious and well-chilled. My husband enjoyed his draft Pilsner beer.
The food menu is, again, fairly limited but that works with this type of restaurant. A few good options is much better than being diluted amongst a long list of mediocre choices. From looking at the menu Cleavers really is a meat-lover’s dream, although there are a few vegetarian options thrown in for good measure.
For our starter, my husband and I shared the melted camembert which came with sourdough toast slices and caramelised onions. This was delicious and the only fault that I could find is that, given the size of the camembert, I would have liked there to be a little bit more toast.
For main course, I had the goat’s cheese salad with a side order of sweet potato fries. I don’t usually go for the vegetarian option, however the salad of goats cheese, artichokes and My husband chose the rack of ribs and skin on fries. We both thoroughly enjoyed the meals and I can honestly say that the sweet potato fries are some of the best that I have eaten. I usually find them to be slightly on the limp, soggy side, however those from Cleavers were delightfully crispy, so much so that the rest of our party all dug in to my leftovers! The servings were all very generous.
Finally, I couldn’t leave without treating myself to a dessert (unlike my husband who has way more willpower than me!). I chose the churros dusted in cinnamon sugar with a dulce de leche caramel sauce, served with vanilla ice cream. Oh my…. I was in heaven. The way to this girl’s heart is definitely via churros!!
Having to order side dishes seperately certainly bumps up the final bill, however the prices are still fairly reasonably and we could not complain about the quality of the food served to us.
Cleavers is the perfect place for socialising over a relaxing meal with a group of friends. We will definitely be going back again soon.
The Curious Ginger Cat 