Black Boy Inn, Miltonback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Since our last, uninspiring visit, big changes at The Black Boy. It has been bought by the celebrity chef Marco Pierre White. Will it still be a pub? Or basically an upmarket restaurant.
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We popped in for a pint on a weekday lunchtime in late autumn because the sun was shining and the outside terrace faces south. One person was on duty -- we waited for several minutes at the bar while she went to and from the kitchen. Absolutely no acknowledgment that we were there. Finally we were served with poorly-kept beer and sat outside with scruffy seats and tables. Expensive as well, and referring to the previous poster Milton is not in the Cotswolds but a couple of miles outside Banbury. Milton is a pretty little village, and deserves a much more hospitable pub.
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I visited this pub in November 2010 as it was half way between my home and Heathrow and seemed ideal for an evening meal stop on our way to Egypt.
The food was great and they served a nice pint of Old Hookey. Prices were not cheap, but what do you expect in the Cotswolds! We both had 3 courses with a drink each and it came in at �70. The pub semed clean and had excellent toilets with nice soap on offer.
The staff were very attentive and only too happy to help. Although primarily a gastro pub, there appeared to be quite a few locals propping up the bar and the atmosphere seemed good. I can only assume that the owners have changed again following some of the dreadful reviews back in 2008.
Will call again if in the area or on my way to the airport.
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mind the travelers from down the road
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We have been going to this pub for about 3 years and it has had 4 managers in that time! The second lot came as part of an extensive refurbishment. We liked it. Lovely ambience and great food. A great improvement on their predecessors. But, as someone else said, it was not really a real pub any more and the cost of a glass of wine was prohibitive. The landlady was a bit rough around the edges and was rude to customers in the "if you don't like it...' fashion. Her husband was charming and thoughtful to regulars there, though, and we went back often.
The next lot lasted five minutes after having put the prices up and cut the portions. The fourth lot are, I think, on 'death row'. They don't mow the lawn, the tables in the garden are laid out willy nilly and they are so rough I cut my hand on them on two occasions. The owner wiped our table inside at our request (it was covered in dog hair and bits of food). She used a cloth dipped in vinegar! It stank! No-one came to ask us if we wanted anything or if the food was OK. The price of the beer now is astonishing. The attention to detail has all gone, along with the charm. All we do now is go for a beer now and then but the standards have really gone down. Last week when we went, truly hoping for some improvement, all the hanging baskets were full of dead pansies. What is it with the pubs in this area? When are breweries etc. going to realise that people want to go and have a pint in a good old-fashioned pub with good honest food that is clean and pleasant to visit with friendly staff. Is it too much to ask?
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Sudden change of Manager again last week! This pub isn't doing the business! The beer is drinkable, it's their prices that are hard to swallow.
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I went to the Black Boy this evening, a week after it opened following an extensive refurbishment. I was a little apprehensive as this is one of my favourite pubs in the area and I had heard that the previous managers (who were lovely) had moved on. Thankfully, the pub is now even better than ever -- certainly for dinner. Now it really is a destination pub, but I still feel that it will be really nice to pop in for a pint and a ploughmans.
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Just re-opened (April 2007) after having a lot of money spent on re-furbishment --- mainly a smart eating area. But the menu is pretentious and expensive. There is nothing to distinguish it from other similar so-called rural pubs which are, in effect, restaurants with a tiny public bar area. Maybe it's the meaningless phrase "pan-fried" applied to dishes that we find completely off-putting.
Milton (near Banbury) is a lovely village, but the outdoor seats at the front overlook the car park.
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