Bars & Pubs

By Guy Dimond

This corner pub was given a facelift by the new owners at the end of 2007. It's now light-filled, with cream-coloured walls, old oak floorboards, candles on the tables and blackboard menus. The staff are enthusiastic and clearly committed to the place, whether they're pouring you a pint of real ale (from the Hook Norton brewery perhaps) or dishing up the menu which has a recognisably Irish accent. The bread is good, baked daily on the premises. Scallops were served with discs of black pudding, a good combination and done well. But a corned beef and carrot pie disappointed: the hot water crust was served slightly burnt, yet the filling was lukewarm. Of the desserts, summer pudding was the best, sharp and running with dark juices. There are two wine lists: the regular one, and one for the kind of people who think nothing of ordering a £65 bottle to go with their pub grub (amazingly, there was no shortage of these on our visit); but even the more modest wine list is packed with well-chosen bottles, with more than a dozen sold by the glass.

July 2008