Plough Inn, Icklinghamback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
We happened upon this pub whilst looking for somewhere to lunch with our children one very quiet Monday in October (09). The pub was virtually empty yet we were made to feel completely unwelcome by the young female bartender. The hostility was clearly geared towards our children but we persevered with our lunch order anyway. When the waitress came to set our table although there was not one single other diner in the bar area she suggested we were split across two tables (one behind the other) because she couldn't move one of the chairs. I asked instead for a larger table in the huge (empty) dining room (obvious?). A few minutes later a large man (the chef/landlord?) appeared in the bar and aggressively told my husband to switch his phone off. My husband wasn't on the phone merely checking an email. We were taken aback by the man's offensive attitude... he became extremely rude. We decided to leave without lunch and expressed how rude we'd found him and the staff especially towards our children. 'Yes' he said, 'We do not encourage children in here... and look at the mess they've made'. We'd been playing a game of chess! This man is a discredit to pub landlords everywhere.
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We came to have lunch here on impulse as we were passing it it looked very nice from the road. The sign on the door said 'children welcome' but we neither found it very welcoming for us or our child. Coming in on impulse, we were dressed quite casually (although not untidy) and the staff , particularly the lady who I think was the landlady seemed to look down on us. There didn't seem to be a separate childs menu, and not really much in the way of baby changing facilities in the ladies. At one point our son had a tantrum, as toddlers do. A few moments later the landlady came outside and took one look at him, and walked straight back inside again. I suspect she was coming to tell us to keep him quiet, but he had stopped by then (he was mainly upset because there was chopped herbs ('green bits') on top of his jacket potato with beans - I would be too). The food was just okay, none of us were particularly impressed. My jacket potato was just about warm enough to eat, although the salad garnish was tasty and nicely arranged. There are some good points, such as the location, the nice interior and that some of the staff are friendly and attentive. But on balance, we just didn't think it was worth another visit and wish we had gone elsewhere.
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My wife and I were VERY pleased to see that Sue, the previous land lady from a few years ago, and her husband Rocky had returned to The Plough. After our fiasco at The Golden Boar in Freckenham with their TERRIBLE food, we had a FANTASTIC meal that was cooked and served THE WAY IT SHOULD BE. Now that we know the previous land lords have returned, we will be going to The Plough whenever we want to go out and eat. They have also had the place refurbed and they now have several rooms available for overnight guests. Highly recommended.
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Worth a visit if you want to see moody staff, an angry chef and people being kicked out for the weirdest of reasons!
It must be noted that on some nights none of the above happens, but quite often it does!
Like the other pub in the village The Plough is also a Free House, more of a restaurant than a pub though!
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A very unpleasant incident occurred at this pub recently after a request for a jug of tapwater, for which there was a charge of �1. When we queried this the chef/owner(?) appeared and angrily explained why he was charging for a jug of tapwater - cost of lemons, ice, hot water for washing, dishwashing powder etc. I pointed out to him that approximately 30 of us were eating lunch and surely he could manage a free jug of water. He became even more angry and said that we were having a cheap meal (�12.50 for an indifferent main course and pudding). We had already bought various drinks at the bar. The incident certainly ruined my lunch and I and my friends will not be visiting the Plough again. This attitude is not the way to run a pub successfully.
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My husband and I have dined here at least 10 times in the last 1.5 years with at least a one day reservation. The food is delicious and the service is great. The wine is not. On our very first dining experience my husband who enjoys dry red wine and has been drinking it for years ordered a glass from a older woman at the bar who acted like an owner. The wine was carmelized and my husband let her know. I'm not a wine drinker myself but I usually taste a little of my husbands. It was horrible. She was very rude to us and argued in front of the other diners that they apply a special 'cap' to the bottle after it is opened that allows them to keep the bottle for 6 months. We told her the cap wasn't working and perhaps the wine was older than 6 months, my husband thought something like more than a year because they didn't even have a date on the bottle when they opened it. Her argumentive demeaner was really unbelievable and ruined our evening. We felt uncomfortable and embarrassed we even said anything but at least this web site entry may help others to avoid this woman and her wine. She didn't even take the glass of wine off our bill. What a shame, we would probably dine there more often but when my husband is in the mood for wine we just go somewhere else. We don't feel that there is an option to order a whole bottle because we now question that perhaps they don't handle or store those correctly either.
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does tend to get quite busy so book in advance for the restaurant.
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Lovely pub, full of character, and characters!
Greene King beers & wines, good food.
Chris Skelhorn - 9 Jul 2006 12:19 |
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