Category Archive: Pubs

Dining pubs, gastropubs

Review: The Swan Inn, Hertfordshire

I wasn’t sure whether I was going to enjoy the Harry Potter Studio Tour, it’s the kind of thing that could be magic… or very naff. But it was a gift from my sister, and I never look a gift Thestral in the mouth (little Harry Potter humour there!). In fact it was brilliant, from …

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Review: The Unicorn, Ludlow

I’m sometimes tempted to make allowances for duff food on the grounds that at least it was cheap. But that’s daft. I’m a half-decent home cook, no Delia but no bad either. So I can confidently state that it doesn’t cost more money to cook crunchy chips, it just requires that you cook them right. …

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Review: Churchill Arms, Gloucestershire

Is it fair to review a restaurant that you visited on a “special” day? In this case, New Years Day for lunch. My friend Tim was quite prescient in saying “we shouldn’t expect too much, the staff will be tired after last night.” But surely a restaurant should only open its doors if it is …

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Review: The Talbot, Newnham Bridge

All over the land the same story is played out. A country pub closes, typically a tired boozer beloved of the village, and like a phoenix from the ashes it re-opens as a country hotel with cosy rooms, period features and an aspiring dining room. Some pay lip service to their old role by leaving …

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Review: Euclid Hall, Denver

Luckily I had low culinary expectations for our trip to Yellowstone National Park and the wild west states surrounding it. There were some appalling lows, however. My teeth can still recall chewing doggedly through a chunk of “slow cooked bison” that required more mastication to choke down than a cowboy hat, while across the table …

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