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Eating in the Cotswolds


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I love, love, loved the King's Arms in Stow. Apparently Jeremy Clarkson is in there all the time, but don't let that put you off. I recall great pints of prawns, amazing mushroom risotto and well nice steak. Fun wine list too: if you're sitting upstairs you can pick your own red from the big racks which fill one wall. I wasn't with kids, but it strikes me as the kind of place they'd be very welcome.

http://www.greenekinginns.co.uk/gloucester...nn_01/index.htm

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Is it for Easter Sunday, or for the Summer Hols?

http://www.allium.uk.net

http://alliumfood.wordpress.com/ the alliumfood blog

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, champagne in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming - Whey hey what a ride!!!, "

Sarah Poli, Firenze, Kibworth Beauchamp

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Easter Sunday, and of course yr that way aren't you?

Yup, let me know if you feel like a drive out! :biggrin:

http://www.allium.uk.net

http://alliumfood.wordpress.com/ the alliumfood blog

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, champagne in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming - Whey hey what a ride!!!, "

Sarah Poli, Firenze, Kibworth Beauchamp

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when we were in stow for the british cheese festival awhile back--hrh/pow attended that year--, we had a great meal at the royalist, good local cheese course. added attraction of being the site of one of the oldest pubs in britain.

Marlena the spieler

www.marlenaspieler.com

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So, four adults, five kids under ten. Staying not far from Stow. Anybody got any good tips for relaxed places for Sunday lunch..?

The Trouble House just outside Tetbury. I went a few weeks back and it was great. You might struggle to get in this close to Easter Sunday though.

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  • 3 years later...

My report on a week's eating in and around the Cotswolds:

The Masons Arms in Swerford (Chipping Norton) was a place that has a Michelin Bib Gourmand and its 2-course 14.95 or 3 course for 17.95 ₤ menu was a bargain; I was tempted to order from the a la carte side until I saw that one a la carte course alone could equal that of the 3 course menu. In any case, three of us ordered the 2-courser, sampling a very fine crispy fried John Dory with a nice orange sauce, a mixed rocket salad and the soup special, a spicy lentil soup. Not only were all good - the greens that came with them were local produce at their best (NB all produce, including meats, were designated by producer). Our mains were an a la carte aubergine, mushroom and ricotta casserole, a shin of beef stew, Gloucester old spot pork smothered with vegetables and a wild mushroom risotto – all of which were fresh, well-made and interesting. The cheeseboard consisted of 6 cheeses, all of which I was only vaguely aware of except the stinking bishop, but all of which were good and different. With a bottle of wine our bill = 81.25 ₤ (for four) before tip.

In the evening we wanted simple light pub grub but the place I hankered for was hosting a big party so we opted for #2 – The Horse and Groom in Oddington, described somewhere as a “posh pub.” Well it certainly is that with a rather restaurant like menu with (again) lots of fresh, local products that were well-prepared and tasty. We four shared two large bruschetti with garlic, tomatoes and melted goats’ cheese and a platter of garden fresh green asparagus with oil and a very decent green salad. Then two of us shared the cold salmon with a tart dill sauce and warm potato salad and two of us had whole haddock, beautifully fried with a nice tartar sauce and not so great fried potatoes. We shared three desserts: fresh local strawberries, a lemon/passion fruit tart and an apple crumble; all tasty and while not inventive, certainly not disgraceful. With 3 glasses of white wine and three pints of local brew our bill was 105.75 ₤ for the four of us.

The Horse & Groom in Bourton on the Hill, was touted as the Good Pub Guide Gloucestershire Dining Pub of the Year 2009 and we can see why. We were advised that the parking was tight and it was but not too much. Despite its modern/local food, it has an old feel to it: order food and wine at the bar from the big chalkboards, sit at untableclothed tables and go at it. We went straight to the mains; three of us ordering the magnificent ”organic” sea trout with dill butter, the other ordering a very tasty lemon sole with vegetables grown near the ocean – both came with fried, boiled or dauphinoise potatoes, carrots and greens. All our portions were most generous, indeed verging on American sized portions, about which I’ll write more. The desserts were simply spectacular; a dense flourless chocolate cake and what was called a toffee/coffee meringue that belies description. So far this was our favorite place. Our bill with one bottle of wine, a coke and 4 coffees of which one was Irish, was 93.40 ₤ before tip.

We had read about The Kingham Plough in Kingham and its description as the “perfect gastropub” in resource Magazine and the “best gastropub in the Cotswolds” here. It’s chef’d by Emily Watkins, who despite being pregnant, was cooking tonight and who’d spent a few years at the Fat Duck, before El Bulli, oft reputed to be the best resto in the world, and saw this as the highlight of our trip. We were sadly disappointed. We started with two items from the bar menu: a bar salad (great, splendid, terrific greens, etc., but a nul dressing) and a “hand-raised pork pie” which was ho-hum, de-dum, but manageable because of a “Ploughman’s Pickle,” a turnip chutney-type accompaniment and from the regular menu, potted Cornish crab, the most forgettable dish since that at Bertie’s at the Hotel Baltimore in Paris (who likes potted anything, I ask myself?) As some have noted, the service aka kitchen-salle delivery ain’t in double time, it’s really slooooow. For mains we had four totally unexciting dishes, from top to bottom- a nice filet of Hereford beef with (why would they make a big deal of it?) tasteless triple cooked chips, a “roast” (why the parens?) quail stuffed with mushrooms and a sauce that with a ton of salt was OK, line caught Cornish pollack (oh my) with an OK potato pancake and good spinach and (my dish) an unspeakably bland lamb pudding with pointy cabbage of which I searched for the point. Desserts were a terrific (yes, indeed) toffee doughnut with a “milkshake” (a misuse of that great American concept if ever I tasted one) and an acceptable rhubarb and almond tart, alright, it was edible. With two bottles of terrific Bordeaux, no coffee, etc, our bill before tip was 128.80 ₤, so far the worst price-quality ratio of the trip.

The Wykham Arms in Sibford Gower is, like most places we’ve dined at in the Cotswolds, often the beaten track and absent of tour buses (leading me to wonder where these hoards of folks dine when out from London). Anyway, we were between Upton House and Chastleton House and found a Michelin rec that sounded better than the alternatives in Harden’s, the Good Food and Good Pub Guides. It looked much like most pubs in Britain, I’ve now concluded, and had a friendly welcome – ditto. Colette started with the special first: a mushroom soup that she declared (and I agree) was almost up to her own; I had a green salad that was once again hardly dressed at all, unlike French and American or Japanese salads, but maybe that’s the way they like them here; and the kids had a series of dishes they called tapas, but I’d call antipasti – artichokes, sundried tomatoes, parsley pesto, brochette, etc; and a salad with warmed goat cheese, prosciutto (another UK favorite it seems) and Provencal vegetables. For mains, Colette chose a cheese board that she and I thought was good; I had a sirloin that was rare as ordered, tough but tasty (much preferred to tender and tasteless) with worthless fries in goose fat; and the kiddies had another warm salad and wood mushrooms on toast with a red onion marmalade that was super-fresh and super-good. With an ale, a bottle of French plonk (terrific), three cappuccinos and an Irish our bill was 81.50 ₤.

What was that old dictum: “life is short, eat dessert first?” Ah. The Fox and Hounds in Great Wolford was a charming place, little heralded except for the note in the “Good Pub Guide” that the chef here made “thoughtfully prepared food,” would that it was/were. We all ordered fish for our everythings; sea bream, turbot and hake (in a fish and chips deal); the ladies was OK, but my hake was clearly frozen, then fried in beer-batter, and resulted in a mushy-mooshy mess. The carrots, cabbage and salad (with asked-for vinegar and oil to add) were OK, the potatoes, so-so. But the desserts, especially the warm steam pudding with toffee and clotted cream, were fabulous. With a lemonade, bottle and glass of blanc and one tea, our bill was 89.90 ₤

Today we were invited to a home in Warwickshire where our delightful hosts, two incredibly savvy gardening-cooking food mavens, prepared one of the most wonderfully “local” feasts since Marlene’s 75 miles outside Toronto of ferns, peameal bacon sandwiches, butter tarts, Canadian cheese and wines. Today it was a mound of thin, super fresh local asparagus with goat butter and salt that started us off. Our main course was a huuugge salmon trout with parsley and lemon and sorrel and spinach sauce that was the best fish of the trip. There were also great new potatoes and samphire and a salad of radishes and their greens, rocket and chive flowers – fab! A palate cleanser was outstanding – raspberry granite made from their home grown berries. Next, the cheese board consisted of two English cheeses, goat and milk and a French sheep, all delicious and all from the supermarket. We ended with local strawberries; some of us added cream and sugar, but I had mine “nude” and they were great. Our bill was 8.25 ₤, our house gift.

The Fox in Lower Oddington was described as “tables close together...noisy” by our hosts but in fact it was quite calm. We choose a lot of firsts, having had a most ample repas. Altogether we had the asparagus soup that was fine but not (by my lights) as good as Colette’s; moules, also quite good and properly undercooked; a tomato mache salad with pesto; and a risotto with spinach and Parmesan – good not great sez C. I held out for the only main; a lamb shank with garlic and red wine sauce – so-so. The desserts were a very good chocolate tart with amoretto crust and crème anglaise and a good toffee pudding that was not up to yesterday’s gold standard. The bill, with 2 bottles of wine and no coffees/teas/etc, was 87.50 ₤.

As part of a day of seeing gardens off the Cotswold chart (the Hidcote Manor & Kiftsgate Court) we ate in nearby Chipping Campden at the Eight Bells Manor. We had a number of firsts and sides: a nice mixed salad (this time, by my lights, properly dressed), a wonderful mushroom soup, a great home smoked trout and horseradish “pate” and very tasty fried onion rings; all of which I liked. The ladies then had fine home-smoked salmon and prawn salads and lemon sole and I had a funny looking fried lamb chop smothered with a sauce that escaped my appreciation meter. The desserts were mixed though; an apple cobbler was great but the toffee pudding was not among the best of breed. With a bottle of wine, a Coke, a tea and four coffees (of which, one was Irish), our bill was 100.25 ₤.

Our dinner was once again a home-cooked affair at the Lower Farm House, a very lovely and comfortable B&B where we were staying this week. Zelie and Nicholas Mason cooked and wined up another fine experience. The first course, offered in their lovely living room along with wine, included quail eggs dipped into celery salt along with a toast topped with a zippy guacamole and shrimp; both terrific. Ǻ table, there was local roast loin of spotted pork (including the wonderful crisped rind) with a citron sauce, mange-touts, roasted red peppers with feta-like cheese, anchovies and baby tomatoes as well as new potatoes. For dessert there was a crème brûlée with berries (in my case specially prepared). What a delicious dinner and the company was delightful. Hats off to our hosts – Zelie and Nicholas. Our bill = 120 ₤.

The Bell in Sapperton was listed as a triple (food, wine & beer) winner in The Good Pub Guide and we were in the area for gardens again (Miserden + North Cerney) and the Roman Villa at Chedworth. Three of us had the crayfish soup special - that was a mistake - it always is a mistake to order the same thing, but this soup seemed to be unique on pub menus this trip, so we broke our rule. It was pretty watery and lacked oomph; luckily though, one daughter had ordered a tapenade with great bread, and she found it “too assertive,” so being inventive, Colette and I put some in the soup with ground salt and pepper et voila, it was terrific! Our other daughter had a microherb (whatever that is) salad that she enjoyed. For mains we had a confit de canard served on a very (terrifically) spicy aubergine ratatouille-type bed (with too generous veggie and potato sides); two others had the appetizer portion of a lightly grilled filet of sea bass and the fourth had a filet of sole. All were quite good. Desserts were a raspberry bakewell tart and the sticky toffee pudding (#4 on this trip, pretty good stacked up against the rest). With 125 cl of wine, a Coke, and four coffees (again one Irish), our bill was 112.65 ₤.

The Old Butchers in Stow. This may have been the best meal so far. It’s a Miche Bibendum in the heart of touristland, sited in an old butcher shop, but you wouldn’t know it, being only ½ full and totally occupied by locals (some of whose plumage and piercings were really weird, even to a hardened metropolitan). We had the lentil soup with spinach and cumin with a dollop of yogurt (delicious), scallops (perfectly cooked with their coral), and baby gems (ah ha, gotcha there) and avocado salad. Then after much Jack Nicolson Five Easy Pieces-type negotiations about a meat sans slabber and rare, I had the sirloin with butter which was, as it is in the UK, tough but tasty, not tender and tasteless. Others had the salad of peas, asparagus and parmesan (so so) and more scallops. Desserts were a chocolate fondant (aka moelleux), had by my daughter who makes the Platinum Standard of this dish for us at home, and a rhubarb-oatmeal crumble which was really great. The bread was great, the music was dreadful and too loud and the service was mixed: Madame very thoughtfully provided a print-out that answered our question about the difference between a single and a double Gloucester cheese, but the sub altern who brought our bill asked for photo ID to verify my cleverly scribbled doctor/French signature. Our bill with two bottles of wine, no coffees and no frou-frou was 103.50 ₤.

The Red Lion in Steeple Aston is just a spit and a whistle from the Rousham Gardens where the gang was visiting. We were told by our amiable host that it used to be a small pub but had added a restaurant that was quite small (it sits about 28 covers). There’s a full menu and we had a good carrot soup, mushrooms with cream and garlic and a wonderful and intriguing dish of scallops, crisp bacon and blood sausage. Mains were three “warm salads” each prepared on the bed of lettuce; crisp, fully cooked slices of duck breast (that were fine but not what I was expecting), salmon that was tasteless despite the ginger sauce on top, beef and a serving of a cheese and onion tart that was declared good but too much. With a glass of local cider, a bottle of wine and no desserts, our bill was 92.35 ₤.

Summary:

Best meals: The Old Butchers in Stow and The Horse & Groom in Bourton on the Hill.

Biggest disappointment and poorest price-quality ratio: The Kingham Plough in Kingham

Consistently good: Cheese and sticky toffee puddings.

Most improved over 50 years: breads.

John Talbott

blog John Talbott's Paris

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