A BASINGSTOKE pub has reopened offering ‘small but substantial’ meals to customers including a £1.50 scotch egg with salad.

The King of Wessex, in Winchester Road, is back open for business after launching a new menu to let customers enjoy a drink inside, with a section on the menu titled ‘small but substantial meals’.

Under tier two restrictions customers are only allowed to have a drink inside a pub with members of their own household if ordering a ‘substantial meal’.

The idea of serving up a scotch egg as a meal came after UK government minister Michael Gove told ITV Evening News: “A scotch egg is a substantial meal. I myself would definitely scoff a couple of scotch eggs if I had the chance, but I do recognise it is a substantial meal.”

His comments resulted in much debate as to whether the snack can be classed as a meal, with some pubs using this as an opportunity to reopen serving the scotch eggs, including the King of Wessex.

However, it is not clear if the Basingstoke pub’s new menu could be a joke, because the following day it published another menu without the scotch egg offering.

It said it was excited to welcome customers back and has other larger meals available to order such as chicken burger or beef chilli.

The Gazette has tried to contact the pub.