Well if anyone had said to me that I would be standing in a field with my long suffering wife, torch in hand , 10.30 at night, looking at Dexter rare breed cattle, I would have said "bullocks" or words to that effect.
I do have an interest though because I fancy keeping a few myself
The said Bullocks are part of Mike and Imogen North,s stock in trade, along with ten wee Gloucester old spot, Tamworth piglets that we did,n't have time to look at.
We shall be eating some of this produce on a return visit.
Mike's dad is a butcher and Mike's not bad himself much preferring to butcher the carcase himself.
Well, this is perhaps the ideal local if you like a drink and a great social life, especially if your a bloke.
The place was fully booked for dinner and a very happy group of locals were at the bar making merryment.
Again generosity in the form of leftovers from evening service was freely distributed amongst the locals.
Imogen stressed that this is first and foremost a pub, not a fine dining restaurant, and that is perhaps why we like it so much.
Lest I forget, if you travel from afar, if you sat nav it, as we did from Oxford, it may get you on the M40, beware, Murcott lies either side of the motorway and has no turn off miles and miles.
We sat in the pub proper although there is a conservatory also, which looked great, or you can of course dine outside.
To start with, an amuse of Pea puree with foamy top tickled the taste buds, then,
Ballotine of Landes Foie Gras, toasted brioche, rhubarb compote, was a little bit of luxury to follow.
Bread was Walnut and Date ( I made some yesterday
) Olive, wholemeal, and white, freshly made of course.
French butter, beurre cru a la Barratte bros was excellent.
Scallops, (diver caught) with a lemon curd dressing, fennel salad, olive dressing, and a sprinkling of coriander leaves hit the spot, but guess the lemon curd might not appeal to every one.
Open roasted vegetable tart with goats cheese and red pepper, and aubergine puree went down well, as the meal gathered pace.
Pave' of Nut tree smoked Salmon, jersey royals, peas, and Rectory Farm asparagus was a highlight as the salmon was exceptional, wonderful flavor, if slightly over salted,
Mike is reported to use an old fridge with an ill fitting door to " smoke in".
Slow roasted " home grown " shoulder of Pork, potato puree, fricasse of wild mushrooms, and apple gravy was also a must eat, I could eat another plateful, now
Poached Rhubarb, with a quenelle of rhubarb sorbet was ok,
Hot lime and coconut souffle with mango sorbet was better, as was the,
Bitter chocolate tart, with golden raisin and rum ice cream.
Surprisingly light , this tart had a soft heart much to my delight.
We skipped coffee as were not really" coffee people", truth be told, besides we wanted to look at the Dexters and had a two and a half hour drive home, dedication eh ?
Had a chat with Mike after service about the merits of keeping Dexters and other foodie things of course, whilst Imogen chatted in between keeping the hearty drinkers at the bar topped up.
Now then if you stumbled on this place, or were one of the lucky locals (pinch yourself) you would fall in love with it straight away, its got the lot, we will be returning pretty soon, but next time will have an overnight stay to have a drink or three with the locals
2 x Menu Surprise £80
7 Glasses of Various Wines £25
Tap water FOC
Total £105 + tip
Fantastic value
