Yew Tree Inn, Highclereback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Destination pub that is geared mainly for food. Very little bar area but all in all a nice enough place. Can't remember the beers as I was driving so I was on something soft!! It's worth seeking out if you're at a loose end!!
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We have just returned home from an overnight stay at The Yew Tree, I don't think I will eat again for a week!!
The Place:- A lovely building, extensively and tastefully refurbished. Our bedroom was modern and comfortable.
The Food:- Go to their website and download the menu/wine list. As this was a special occasion I knew what the prices were before I went. My concern was that the food would not live up to the cost. I needn't have worried, the starters, mains and puds were superb! We could fault nothing.
Breakfast too (we both had full english) was just as good. (our only comment would be that a field mushroom would have been preferable to the button ones!).
The Drinks:- After booking in I tried the Butts Barbus Barbus, the Theakstons Black Sheep and she had the Adnams Bitter (there was A West Berkshire brewery Mr Chubbs Lunchtime bitter and Timothy Taylors Landlord). Before and after the meal I had Westons Old Rosie cider (there was also Westons Bounds Brand). All were perfectly presented and I was told that the cellar had just been refurbished so that all beers/ciders were served at exactly the correct temperature - which they were.
The Staff:- From Iain, the Maitre d', to Mark, the barman, we had exceptional service! Our compliments go to them all for making our visit a truely memorable occasion.
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Went for lunch on 6th August. The cellar was too cold and both the Black Sheep and Adnams suffered as a result. The Black Sheep had a vinegar tang, and I sent it back. At four quid a pint, I expect something better. We were called to our table before I'd even got a beer, let alone consumed it - so much for pre lunch drinks. The food was good. It wasn't all spronced up with Nouvelle Cuisine, but more like decent home cooking with some fiddly bits. Altogether, two starters, two mains, 2 glasses of wine and coffee came to �100 with tip. You might think this expensive in these straightened times, but the wealthy burghers of the Newbury district are obviously unaffected by economic misfortunes. As a pub, I don't rate it, since I'd be most unlikely to pop in for a pint. As a restaurant, it's good home cooking that's over priced. Go again? Nah!
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We had lunch last Saturday afternoon and although it was an adventure to get there, it was certainly worth the journey and OMG the food is fantastic. The retaurant is quiet and comfortable service is just at the right level not too intrusive.
Set lunch is a bargin and the beer was well kept according to the husband.
I would highly recommend!!
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I wanted to visit the pub shown on the Ordnance map in the centre of Highclere and found it being converted into "The Red House Tandoori", surely one of the great crimes against humanity. I like Indian food, but destroying a village's only pub? I think not.).
I was therefore forced to visit MPW's Yew Tree Inn, where on entering I was faced by a flunky who directed me to the bar. They had six handpumps, two with ciders (one a hefty 7.3%, the other a scrumpy), and four beers. I plumped for the Black Sheep and was served a glass of beer with an inch of foam on top (inside the glass, not above it), at an eye-watering cost of GBP3.95, the most I've paid for a pint in my entire life.
Having said that, the beer was OK. The walls of the bar are covered with excruciatingly badly drawn cartoons, which it would do a service to civilisation to destroy at once.
The menu appeared a little pretentious (for example, gull's eggs, from what I overheard), but I didn't actually look at it. No doubt a second mortgage would be required to eat here.
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It's nice enough and the service was friendly but the food was nowhere near as good as I was expecting given the MPW connection.
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I took the family here on a special occasion, assuming that Marco Pierre White's involvement guaranteed that everyone would enjoy delicious food and have a great time.
Unfortunately all of us got diarrhoea. All of us. And since we don't all live together, I can say with 100% certainty that it WAS because of the main course (that we all ordered because there was practically nothing else to choose from).
Nice decor, but otherwise really crap. Avoid.
anonymous - 12 Jun 2007 20:21 |
C17 inn located on a junction in the middle of nowhere between Newbury and Andover. Lovely rambling old building. Famous chef Marco Pierre White in residence. We stayed the night in one of their sweet little rooms and were served a very decent breakfast by the friendly staff.
Greshon - 23 Apr 2007 14:25 |
Or to give it its full title, 'Marco Pierre White's Yew Tree Inn', who I am reliably informed is an internationally reknowned chef. Therefore, the emphasis is on the food side of things but was a pleasant place to stop off for a beer in the evening.
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