Plough Inn

The food was wonderful as always, and breakfast the next morning was delicious, cooked individually rather than served as a buffet. The staff made us feel welcome as soon as we checked in, and nothing seemed too much trouble. We’d eaten here before, but stayed this time for our daughter-in-law’s birthday. The rooms are beautifully decorated with excellent attention to detail, warm and cosy, and the bathrooms are amazing and spacious. Even the dogs were made to feel welcome.

Amelia did her best to give us good service, and the tempura prawn starter was tasty, though its batter seemed more like regular batter. The rest was very disappointing. With a serious garlic allergy, we couldn’t have most of the menu, and I didn’t feel much was done to accommodate us. Surely a chef could make a simple sauce without garlic so the food wasn’t so bland. "The Gaffer" said, "try and get the head chef to cook without garlic". When our meal finally came without garlic, the triple-cooked chips were more uncooked than cooked and my steak was tough. Two meals and two drinks came to £116, before the 12.5% gratuity. I would honestly have disputed the price and offered to pay only for drinks and starters, but I was staying in the car park and my husband didn’t feel he should drive after a drink. It looked like a nice restaurant at first, which made this all the more disappointing.

We came for breakfast the next morning too, and had just as lovely a time. The eggs benedict were perfect, as were the croissants. The night before, my girlfriend and I had a lovely three-course meal and a bottle of wine. The booking was easy, and the confirmation email said we had the table for 1 hour 30 minutes. We stayed about 20 minutes longer, but nobody rushed us or made us feel we’d overstayed. We were welcomed by who I assume was the manager, a gentleman in a shirt and braces, and shown to the comfiest restaurant seats I’ve ever sat in. It was warm and cosy, with water brought over and plenty of time to look at the menu. There was a good range of dishes for different ages, allergies and budgets. Our waitress was friendly and attentive, and answered our menu questions. The caesar salad starter looked beautiful, and the venison steak was perfect with the nicest truffle mashed potato I’ve ever had. My girlfriend noticed the menu doesn’t offer steaks cooked above medium. That may be an issue for some, but to me it says the chef knows his stuff and doesn’t want to ruin a good dish. 10/10, would highly recommend.

The relaxed, warm decor made for a lovely atmosphere, and the staff took great care of us when we came for my partner’s birthday. They even brought out a surprise birthday dessert plate. We had mains and desserts, all perfectly cooked and full of flavour. Everything was absolutely delicious. Recommended.