CLT Eats – A Charlotte Restaurant Review

View from table

While trekking around the Fort Mill/Tega Cay area we became hungry and pulled into Baxter to see what treats could be found and Six Pence Pub seemed like a reasonable option. I was skeptical but I also was hungry and it’s not good for my mood to go hungry too long. Good ole Fish n’ Chips or Cottage (Shepherd’s) Pie are favorites of mine. Unfortunately the places I usually stumble upon these dish’s being offered tend to be hit or miss. I like O’Shea’s Fish n’ Chips and the Shepherd’s Pie at the Cheesecake Factory of all places. A place called Six Pence Pub you KNOW is going to have both, and with a name like that you’d expect a pretty admirable attempt and pulling off these European delights. Hmm…

Being off hours we were able to park right outside the front door and walk in. The feel of this place is pretty cool actually. I love that old European feel with the dark colored wood and pictures of people that died a loooong time ago and dressed really oddly. It does have a bit of a manufactured feel about it but despite that they did a fairly good job. Service was reasonably good. Not stellar but not bad either. After auditing the menu I had to go with the Shepherd’s Pie. I needed substance and sometimes fried fish can be a little too greasy for me so I decided to play it safe. Our food came out in a reasonable amount of time and looked decent. The portion size of the Shepherd’s Pie was kind of small. It did the trick anyway but it was a little on the skimpy side. How did it taste? Fair I suppose. It wasn’t exactly bad but it definitely wasn’t anything special either. It merely warded off the hunger fairy for a few hours and wasn’t particularly rewarding in the process. If I hadn’t have been so hungry I might not be quite as kind but honestly it wasn’t terrible.

An interesting side note is that I wasn’t sure the difference between Shepherd’s Pie and Cottage Pie. The names seem to be used interchangeably and I’d honestly never given much thought to it. After looking around a bit online it turns out that Cottage Pie usually contains beef as the meat and Shepherd’s Pie obviously contains lamb primarily. Fairly obvious in hindsight but interesting none the less. It’s actually handy for me to know since I don’t particularly care for lamb.

Will I go back to Six Pence Pub? I suppose, if it’s were others in my party are interested in going. I doubt I’d make a point of going though. It’s just not very compelling. The environment in Baxter is that of a somewhat captive audience. It’s just convenient to stop in here if you’re in Baxter already. This environment breeds mediocrity. They don’t have to work so hard to garner traffic. It’s built in. If they were terrible they probably wouldn’t do that well but they’re not terrible. It’s why Darden Restaurants has parked a Red Lobster and Olive Garden at the entrance of Carolina Place Mall. It’s a smart business decision and means they food doesn’t have to be quite as compelling.

Pros

• Neat European Interior
• Convenient if you’re in Baxter

Cons

• Mediocre Food
• Expensive for what you get

Rating: Not Recommended