The Good Pub Guide 2010

Informal, airy and civilised, with good individual food; fine riverside spot

The chef/landlord here is an avid collector of vintage comic books and there are 320 bright and colourful covers framed and crammed on the white walls at this spacious place. You’d swear this was a Brunning & Price pub, given the general atmosphere and open yet partly divided layout, the mix of seating from varnished chapel chairs to a variety of dining chairs, various mainly stripped tables from simple to elaborate, the rugs on bare boards or even the chunkily old-fashioned radiators. Born near here, and the son of a local vicar, the landlord did indeed work for B&P, and has brought many of that group’s virtues here, including staff attitudes (cheerful and helpful), pleasing lighting, an enterprising changing choice of about three dozen wines by the glass, and a good range of spirits including 35 single malts. Beers though are more restricted, with well kept Greene King IPA, Abbot and Old Speckled Hen on handpump; they have good coal fires, and the day’s [I]Times[I]. Big windows look out past a terrace with teak tables to picnic-sets on the lawn by a charming 14th-c bridge over the River Leam; no prams or pushchairs inside.

The food is good, fresh, generous, and individual, with soup and plenty of light dishes such as potted pheasant and hazelnut, home-cured gravadlax on toasted sourdough, shepherd’s pie, devilled kidneys, smoked salmon and crab linguine or pork belly with bubble and squeak. Main dishes might include beef and chorizo pie, smoked haddock and cod fishcakes, ham and eggs with sturdy chips, pork chop with blue cheese and apple risotto and venison casserole.