Exclusive: Max Halley to launch parmo concept at his West Country pubs

The publicans Max Halley and Ethan Davis will launch a new parmo concept on Wednesday, first at their newly taken The Sam Weller’s in Bath, and then at The Five Bells in Salisbury come autumn.

When Halley, famous for selling outlandish sandwiches at his London shop, wandered into the pub trade, he made a point of serving only sausage rolls, crisps, and pickled eggs by way of any food offering. The focus has been on creating classical boozers. Where gastropubs (it’s a word, sorry) have swept through the West Country, Max and Ethan have promised to ‘move away from that model’, instead hoping to be more traditional.

That said, Max and his business partner Ethan – who grew up above a pub out west – both have a ‘mutual appreciation of fried meat cutlets’, and have decided to combine their boozers with the the concept. A parmo, a Middlesbrough staple, is a drinking dish in every sense of the word – flattened and breaded meat, usually pork, is fried and covered in a silky bechamel sauce and cheddar.

Variations might include tomato, as will be the case at Max and Ethan’s pubs. Although the pair will be running riot with the notion, with a menu arguably more expansive than that of a North Yorkshire takeaway.

At The Parmo Shop, the ‘pizzas made of meat’ will include a pork version topped with tomato sauce, bechamel, mozzarella, parmesan and cheddar; one topped with mortadella, artichoke, and truffle oil; and another of ‘nduja, chilli, and honey.

‘Why should the people of Middlesbrough be the only ones allowed pizzas made of meat’, Max said. The Parmo Shop will open at The Sam Weller’s this Wednesday. The same menu will launch at The Five Bells in the ‘coming months’

The Parmo Shop – ‘Pizzas made of meat’

• Pork Parmo – Breaded pork cutlet, all topped with tomato sauce, silky bechamel, mozzarella, parmesan & cheddar (£11.50)
• Mortadella, artichoke & truffle oil (£15.50)
• ‘Nduja, chilli, honey (£15.50)
• Ham & Pineapple (£13.50)
• Veggie Parmo – Breaded aubergine, topped with tomato sauce, silky bechamel, mozzarella, parmesan & cheddar
• Aubergine, guindilla, salsa verde (£13.50)