Queens Arms, Corton Denhamback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Back again on a walk, not having been here for a while. Excellent choice of beers and ciders (though the server mis-heard the order of "Thatcher's Heritage" for "Gold". When she realized her mistake, she poured it down the sink. (Possibly the best place for Thatcher's Gold.) The pork pies here are worth the 5-mile walk it took to get here. This is an excellent place; it deserves the awards it gets, though its clientèle is arguably too pretentious. (A few years ago, one Londoner started to patronize one of the servers, assuming he was a local yokel. He asked him what he would be doing in the autumn. "Taking up my Exhibitionship at Merton College, Oxford", was the reply, leaving Londoner more than a little deflated.)
Out-of-the-way, but a place very worthy of a visit. 8/10 this time.
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AA Pub of the year, Somerset Cider Pub of the Year and now it's been voted 2012 National Best Freehouse of the Year and the only Pub to be given a AA Rosette in it's area . So, you can't win all these awards without doing something right!
Great staff who know their Beers and Food and serve the correct Glass's with all their Beers from around the world and can match their drinks to the Food being served.
OK it has a lot of cars parked out the front but that's because it's good and most people recognise that. it' s only the minority that have nothing to do but windge all the time and can't give constructive criticism. The words are "get a life as you are here for a good time not a long time".
I will keep coming back to this Pub as it is the best around and we are lucky to have it on our doorstep.
Pubs are going out of business guys so support your Pubs and stop windging.
Ross
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Wow, what negative reviews for such a great place, some would appear to be based on chippiness as much as anything.
1st, the location: Yes it's hard to find. thank goodness as it stops it being any busier. View from the outside seating area is wonderful.
2nd, parking: Yes, it's terrible. Just keep driving along the road to the north into the village and there's virtually limitless parking alongside a long wall a good 200 yards tops from the pub.
3rd, food: I eat out a lot and this is my favourite in the area, despite some very stiff competition.
4th, service: never been anything but excellent.
5th, beer: Yes, very pricy but you don't come to a pub like this for a cheap beer. Apart from all the wierd beers/ciders on draught they have a truly bonkers selection of amazing bottled beers from all over the world.
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Visited last evening and it appears to be a pub of extremes; there is no doubt that the food was extremely well cooked and the range of ales excellent - Cheddar Ales' Gorge Best, which was absolutely delightful, and several offerings from the local Moor Beer Company including Revival, Somerland Gold (I think) and Peat Porter (stored in a fridge? as it was far, far too cold and at �4 a pint - yes, �4 a pint - was the most over-priced beer I'd ever had.
After that it was downhill all the way. So, where to start? Well firstly parking is extremely limited and usually occupied by sports cars and bloody great 4x4's - indicative of the regular clientele. From the outside the pub is quite unpreposessing and inside it is less so, the bar area being functional rather than comfortable and obviously geared to diners. There is a separate dining room with old wooden furniture but it is extremely cramped. The service was, well, cavalier to say the least, certainly at the bar. The food, as I said, was extremely well cooked nouvelle cuisine but the portions are extremely small - I'd had a long day and as soon as I got home I had two pasties as I was still so hungry! The menu is ridiculously limited - just pork loin, cod, chicken or risotto on offer - and horrendously over-priced. OK I was in a party of about 20 but to take two hours to serve us a two-course meal was, in my opinion, far too long. Overall the pub is far too pretentious for me and the whole experience left a lot to be desired. From now on I'll leave this place to the fools who like to be parted with their money on the grand scale. I won't be back.
BobOs - 15 Jul 2011 09:55 |
This is one of my favourite pubs. The beer and food are excellent (the latter is expensive). The accommodation is very good (it has character but is also comfortable and has good amenities). The village setting is lovely and the bar area is cosy and traditional. I suppose, sometimes, I think the service is a bit off-hand. I guess, given the location and upmarket nature of this place, I might also expect the kind of problems with haughty locals that others describe. But having stayed here a dozen times or so, I've never had any problems.
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When you can actually find this place it's great. Just ignore the locals, they can be a tad 'trite'!! But the beer is usually good. I normally stop for one, speak to no one and they off on my merry way.
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I like this place particularly the bar area! Went recently (my birthday, wife paying!) Yes it can be a bit "Barbour brigade" and is on the pricey side. However the food is good, service helpful and friendly and the five cask ales were all in good condition and eminently drinkable. The Queen's Revival (unfined) was particularly good.
Will certainly go again - it's decidedly worth the journey.
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Stopped off recently during the bleak midwinter, as knew this to be a decent place for a pint and some grub if needing a break from driving and prepared to stray off the A303.
It is focused on the Barbour brigade - and decorated in 'Fired Earth' style accordingly, and without the usual 'attractions' of TV, pool etc. I haven't witnessed braying, but it wouldn't surprise me.
From the gastro pub perspective it does it well, with competent fare and priced as one might expect for this kind of place (i.e fairly highly). That said, I'm not an 'all you can eat for a fiver' merchant, and it's better than many/ some in the gastro context.
Could do with a bit more seating, but lacks the space required (in the bar). Side rooms exist for overspill and parties; and the garden is very good in the summer.
Service pleasant and efficient in my experience.
Good selection of ales, usually well kept, but my Queen's Revival - see review below - was, although drinkable, definitely on the turn. If I'd been tarrying, I would have asked for a replacement.
Parking can be a nightmare; and there's some brash local Margot Leadbetter WI-types abroad who won't hesitate to tap on your window to object to your location if it displeases them. And irrespective of whether there's any actual inconvenience caused or not.
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Pleasant country pub with a welcoming atmosphere. Exceptionally helpful and friendly staff. A log fire and woodburner in the bar made for a welcome havn from the freezing weather. Food was very good indeed, although the small portions and high prices are probably aimed at the county clientele. There was no sign of The Braying Londoner; I suspect the snow frightened them away. Beer was extremely good. I had Moors "Queen's Revival", a new one for me, which hit the spot exactly.
I completely disagree with Climber205 (below) - a frindly quiet drink is exactly what we found, and next time I'm looking for a meal in Sherborne I will make the effort to come out here as it is superior to any of the local town pubs.
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4 scallops as a starter for �7.20, Sausages & mash �9.20, Whiting & chips �9.80, 2 pieces of lamb hacked off a rack of ribs with a soggy bubble & squeak �15.00, four very small pieces of cheese with some grapes and some strange looking crackers �6.50. What a joke, staff were friendly and one did admit it was overpriced! beer ok. Won't be going back.
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This pub is vastly over rated, promising from the outside but sadly disappointing once you step through the door. Boring and lacking in character. The arrogance of the locals and management further establishes I wouldn't travel to go here again. If you're looking for a friendly welcome and a quiet drink you wont find it here
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Good country pub, but overpriced and the would-be 'County' clientele can become irritating.
BobOs - 30 Aug 2008 19:01 |
Stopped in here on our way (yes, from London) to a wedding in Sherborne. Given a tip by a local friend who is also a chef in London.
We were in a hurry, but keen to have some of the food we'd heard so much about. The place was not so busy - although the lane was quite full - and we asked the staff if we had time to eat. They were not only polite, capable and welcoming, but they also got us our food and drinks promptly, and we were in and out in 30 minutes. I wish we could have stayed longer, but we had to get to the church on time....
That said, there was a loud party hosted by West London Man (tm) who kept on braying about "cider o'clock" and had clearly migrated from SW4 that afternoon. Fortunately (for us) they were annexed to the private dining room. Even tho we couldn't sound more like we're from London ourselves, this uy made my skin crawl.
Still, highly rated - and the rooms looked amazing.
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Having just rated the Halfway House at Pitney I now move on to rate this pub, the two are in many ways similar in my eyes, they just offer a different experience. Having read the reviews of the Halfway House that hark on about Range Rovers and now I come to this place and a similar thing occurs, it's all really quite amusing.
If the Halfway House is simple, rustic and homely, the Queens Arms is smart, stylish and homely. Thought has gone into everything to make it a destination for many locals (in fact talking to a barman the other day - of all these so called Londoners that invade the place, it's only the rooms that are invaded, the majority of pub are people from a few miles away) to eat tasty, clever food from local produce and drink local ales and ciders or choose from the best selection of bottled beer I've seen in the southwest and a great wine list.
The
I feel as comfortable here as I do in the Halfway House, both places have atmosphere and both places have friendly, enthusiastic young staff. I'm rating these on the same day because they are my two favourite pubs in Somerset.
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With country pubs closing down at a rate of three a day, what beer drinkers have to understand is that landlords need to a) make money and b) attract new people to their pubs in order to survive. It's all very well harking back to the "traditional West Country pub" but spit-and-sawdust and some grunty, obscure local ales do not pay the rent, the employees' liability insurance, the water rates, the cost of staff and paying National Insurance, and so on and so on and so on.
That said, treating local-locals as second-rate citizens compared to the visiting Londoners is not on.
BUT when I visited this pub, the welcome me and my folks received was of the warmest variety. Informative about the pub, the local area, cosy, relaxed, welcoming of my large dog and with great service.
I guess it's about where you feel comfortable. But just because a pub has a lot of (well-heeled) visitors from outside of its environs doesn't make it a bad place. Inns were, traditionally, stopping-off places for weary travellers as much as they were social places for the people that lived near them, after all.
A defintion of an "authentic" West Country pub would be most appreciated....
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Pricey, but very good selection of beers (including German Bock and "organic lager" (!) at recent visit). Pork pies excellent. The usual transport there, for a great many people however, remains the Range Rover and the Beemer. Say no more.
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Tommaso002 & Oggin are not unadjacent to dead right with their reports.
beer selection is good, tho prices aren't popular with anyone but the owners. The Manager has little say I guess.
Good growlers and chutney tho....recommended.
All the above comments apply to the sister pub in Buckhorn Weston too......same formula exactly and same clientele.
anonymous - 24 Jul 2007 12:33 |
It's all very "nice" and indeed there are some good local beers on tap. But really this is not what a Somerset village pub should be. When inside you feel like you could walk out of the door to be somewhere like Parson's Green, indeed there is even a picture inside of the White Horse in Fulham, or "Sloany Pony" as it's better known. If this is what you are looking for then great, but if you want some good authentic local atmosphere, go elsewhere (The Mitre in nearby Sandford Orcus is a good bet). Please stop turning our local pubs in to wine bars, you are alienating locals and destorying the character of the traditional west country pub!
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Great pub for the middle classes, full of retired accountants and countryside wannabees. Nasty snob of a landlord who grovels around 'his' locals and snubs even the most polite request for service. If you read the Mail on Sunday, you will love this place, otherwise it is pretentious, unfriendly and throroughly unpleasant experience. Instead, go to the Red Lion in Marston Magna, better food and friendly landlord.
Oggin - 15 Mar 2007 15:29 |
Old stone pub with srtiking modernised interior, good range of real ales & foreign bottled beers. Excellent food - try the custard tart dessert! Coped very well when busy on my bank holiday Sunday visit. Parking a bit tricky as the village lane is narrow.
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Traditional British pub serving real ales and very good food. Beautiful bed and breakfast accommodation.
Paul Brown - 21 Sep 2005 18:36 |
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