Ye Olde Falcon Pub

Rochelle Koff12/8/2011

At this busy time of year, we often find ourselves heading home late without a plan for dinner. In our neighborhood, one good source for late-night grub is our local pub. Davie’s Ye Olde Falcon Pub is open till 4 a.m. daily and offers a selection of traditional British and American comfort food, from bangers and mash to pot roast, plus an extensive menu of burgers, sandwiches, wraps, wings and other bar food. A highlight you wouldn’t expect are the homemade soups.

We stopped in on the way home, and a friendly server gave us a tall glass of ice water with lemon while we waited for our order. If you want something stronger, there’s the popular pint of Guinness and 50 other beers including craft specialties like Delaware’s Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, Maine’s Sea Dog Blue Paw Wheat Ale and the UK’s Hobgoblin. The pub, which has expanded three times since it opened in 1989, is dark and cozy, with TVs tuned to sports.

Soup sounded grand so we ordered both choices, the kicky sausage gumbo with lots of rice, and a cream of cauliflower with a silky stock, which was our favorite. Other starters include chicken wings (if you love heat, go for the “fire eater” sauce), fried pickles, duck tenders and smoked fish dip.

Ye Olde Falcon Pub’s signature fish and chips are made with fist-size fillets of cod in a beer batter that produces a deep golden brown crust with just the right crunch. Thick-cut steak fries, lemon wedges and tartar sauce complete the dish. Scoring high on the comfort-food list is the shepherd’s pie, a generous mound of well-seasoned ground beef topped with mashed potatoes and a layer of melted Cheddar served with slices of white bread.

The nightly special on our visit was roasted pork loin topped with a mushroom gravy and plenty of sliced mushrooms. It came with a disappointing veggie medley and a much better house salad. We skipped dessert, but you’ll find family-pleasing treats like chocolate lava pie, cheesecake and always-tempting funnel cake sticks.