The Plough at Winchmore Hill

[Andy Lynes]

The Plough is a " bar, dining room, lounge and garden" (a converted pub then) located in the Buckinghamshire countryside, close to Amersham. The chef is David Bennett, ex-Marco employee, and the menu has been created in collaboration with another of White's "boys" Darren Bunn. Bunn is in turn head chef at The Greyhound in Stockbridge, Hants, another property in the same group owned by developer Barry Skarin and Paul Smith, the latter also being the owner of Thackeray's in Tunbridge Wells. Complicated enough for you?

Here's the menu.

The Plough

Winchmore Hill

Amersham,

Bucks,

HP7 0PA

01494 721001

(Info courtesy of Network London).

[Lord Michael Lewis]

The Plough is a " bar, dining room, lounge and garden" (a converted pub then) located in the Buckinghamshire countryside, close to Amersham. The chef is David Bennett, ex-Marco employee, and the menu has been created in collaboration with another of White's "boys" Darren Bunn. Bunn is in turn head chef at The Greyhound in Stockbridge, Hants, another property in the same group owned by developer Barry Skarin and Paul Smith, the latter also being the owner of Thackeray's in Tunbridge Wells. Complicated enough for you?

Here's the menu.

The Plough

Winchmore Hill

Amersham,

Bucks,

HP7 0PA

01494 721001

(Info courtesy of Network London).

David Bennett used to be a superlative pastry-chef, so I expect that the apparent simplicity of the menu belies a fucking exquisite execution. Go now before this guy gets a better deal.

Edited August 4, 2003 by Lord Michael Lewis (log)

[Lord Michael Lewis]

I should also add that The Plough is in an extremely pleasant spot, and, despite bubbly Babs' intervention, has a long reputation for for serving extremely good food. Indeed, a history of the Gastropub would be incomplete without reference to the Plough's (like the Sir Charles Napier), influence on early nineties pub eating. I wish David "Dave" Bennett the absolut best of luck with this endeavour, for, although not a character that courts attention, his floating islands are the best I've ever seen or tasted, and his interventions into the body of la carte, with his foie-gras puff pastry, to name but one unique innovation, have been some of the highlights of my gastronomic life.

[Andy Lynes]

Well, I'm glad I posted that now, thanks for the background LML.

[Bapi]

After spending two hours cleaning the house, well frankly, I was bored. (I don't think my darling wife even knows what colour our Dyson is, let alone know how to use it). I needed some food in decent surroundings and we felt that we needed to get out of London. So, leafing through the Michelin Pub guide we came across the Plough in the pretty village of Winchmore Hill. (No, not the one in North London, near where we live, as I originally thought.

After checking that they welcomed babies, the three of us set off to Buckinghamshire. The pub itself is slight anomaly, as it's set just off a quintessentially picture perfect English village green, the exterior remaining old fashioned, albeit very well kept. But the interior has only the vaguest hint that this is an very old country pub; the low beams remain, but are covered by leather to protect the guests from knocking themselves out. Not a problem for me. The Bar area is very modern with leather sofas and seats leading into the bright modern dining room with a brown flagstone floor and Farrow & Ball green walls. A short menu of four choices at each course was presented to us and we started with Salt and Pepper squid, French fries and Lime aioli for me and Scallops on a hazelnut and truffle mash, with a balsamic reduction. The squid was pleasant enough, although the odd mouthful was sometimes a little heavy on the pepper. The French fries were wholly redundant on the plate though, five of them being placed next to squid, did little to add to the dish. Not sure what the chef was thinking there. Rosie's scallops were more successful - the mash had a comforting texture and nutty taste, but with only the vaguest hint of truffle flavour being detectable. The scallops were good in the main, although part of one of them was slightly under cooked.

For mains we both opted for a Roast Rib of Beef accompanied by the usual suspects. I asked for both our portions to be served rare which they duly did. However, then our little one did what comes naturally to us all, and so Rosie took him out to change him. The woman on the serving team was incredibly efficient and removed Rosie's plate to keep warm and offered to bring out more fresh vegetables when she returned. I, er, carried on eating- and was rewarded with well cooked beef which had bags of flavour. The vegetable accompaniments were good - not overcooked and lightly buttered, but the Yorkshire pudding lacked a little something.

To finish, we had a Strawberry Panacotta with a Baileys cream and a Rich chocolate terrine with an orange sauce. Again both very good. With a G&T, Apple Juice, a large bottle of water, a glass of Rioja and an excellent glass of Bourgogne- the bill, which came with a 12.5% service charge added, was about £80.

Certainly a very nice place to visit if you are in the area.

[the count of monte christo]

They have had a few problems at The Plough of late. Darron Bunn left 1 month after the opening, David Bennett left 6 months later and Barry Skarin left just before christmas. They were closed over the christmas period and reopened late jan. Haven't been in recently but I live just round the corner and play for Whinchmoor Hill cricket team so I know just how much the restaurant means to the villagers. I hope they manage to get it back on track and put the problems behind them.

[Bapi]

They have had a few problems at The Plough of late. Darron Bunn left 1 month after the opening, David Bennett left 6 months later and Barry Skarin left just before christmas. They were closed over the christmas period and reopened late jan. Haven't been in recently but I live just round the corner and play for Whinchmoor Hill cricket team so I know just how much the restaurant means to the villagers. I hope they manage to get it back on track and put the problems behind them.

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Well Count - lucky you - what a fabulous little village. There seemed to be some rather mad cycling event taking place there on Sunday, the finish line of which was right in the middle of the village green.

It looked like a wonderful place to have as a local and I think that by attracting the right person to run the kitchen it could be a great success. Having said that, it was packed anyway last Sunday.