Talbot Inn, Much Wenlockback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Nothing has changed here since my last review apart from the range of ales. A good Salopian Shropshire Gold was £4 a pint last Saturday lunchtime with Wye Valley HPA being the same price and Butty Bach 10p more. 4 people queuing at the bar meant that the landlady needed to call for assistance as it was "manic".
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Not as big as it first seems with the dining area at the front of the pub and a few solitary tables in the other part. Initially dismayed to find only Doom Bar and Black Sheep Special Ale on sale, the quality of the latter almost took me back to a weekend in Masham - an accolade indeed. Food was plentiful and well-priced at just £11.95 for a 2-course Sunday lunch. But how are they allowed to operate with the only handbasin/dryer in the Gents actually being inside the solitary cubicle?
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Good to find an unusual local brew available from Big Shed Brewery. Other real ale was Bass.
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All I can say about this pub is, in my opinion, EXCELLENT. The beer is always good and the greeting is always friendly.
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Visit Much Wenlock once or twice a yearand this pub is usually the first port of call due to being able to sit out in the courtyard for the first pint. This Saturday was raucus as the cricket team appeared to be celebrating and getting ready to head off somewhere more clubby. Sampled Skinners Hunny Bunny and the Bass, both well kept but prefered the Bass.
Calling back in at the end of the night it had settled back down to a nice relaxed country pub feel probably the best place to end the night in Much Wenlock.
The pub is quite diney particularly at the front but spreads through to the back at peak times and the poor waiters have to negotiate throught the room at the back and passed the bar to serve most of the meals. Can't speak for the food but it seems popular. The pub is or was Egon Ronay commended. They are now selling ready made sandwiches for the locals that choose not to dine, cricket teams etc.
The bad bit is I once saw the landlady fire a menber of staff, don't know if he deserved it, probably did from what I overheard, but that was not the point. The point was he was fired in front of me at a time picked by the landlady who must have been watching too much Gordon Ramsay for style and language tips. He should have been fired in private for everyones sake. It spoiled my night and I missed this pub out for a couple of visits to Much Wenlock.
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Despite it's GPG rating this fine old pub is headed downhill rapidly. There are few customers now, thought they still have two Real Ales available. The evening food is now very expensive and very fussy. On a recent visit we had to plead to use the lunchtime menu before we could find anything my teenage daughter would eat. One not so pleasent feature is that they always, without exception, overcharge you for the food, as the bar staff can't cope with your ordering from their set menus and charge the usual menu prices anyway, you have been warned.
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We visited Much Wenlock on a Sunday lunchtime and the place was deserted. We walked into the Talbot and realised that everyone was in this old looking (if slightly neglected) pub. We sat outside and ordered food. I had the fish pie which was ruined by the pound of cheese that had been melted on top. My fiancee had the Shropshire pie. The menu claimed that it had leeks in it but these were few and far between. My main disappointment though was the quality of the pork in this pie. It was stringy and old and contained gristle. I try to never leave anything on my plate but in this instance had to do just that. My British-ness prevented me from saying anything which I now regret. The beer was well kept though.
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