Horns, Datchworthback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Probably the only decent place to eat in the area. Bad experience in the Tilbury, the Grandison a bit brash and pretentious, White Horse not particularly friendly, Plume - yuck! Ale is also good here, and the manager very droll.
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Visited Saturday 11 Jan. 3 beers on, asked for JHB but it went so had Twenty instead which was fine. Later on, the second pint was the JHB replacement of 3 Brewers from St Albans, also good. I did hear later that the JHB was poor before it went.
Dinner was fine, decent steak and fish pie.
Service was generally good, maybe they have read some of the previous reviews referring to service?
Total cost wasn't a disaster either, working out about £23 a head including a couple of drinks.
No complaints from here...
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I live locally and keep hearing raves about the food, how nice the owner is etc etc. For my birthday in March, I went to see what all the hype is about and was quite disappointed.
Food was ok, nothing special, but not worth what I was being charged and the selection of beer on tap is quite disappointing. It seems to cater to the hooray Henry types, so I guess my partner and I felt out of place because we were expecting a nice quiet meal in a country village pub style, but it felt like a wine bar with antique effect. It is really over-hyped in my book, but sometimes it seems really busy so suits some.
My partner and I are pretty easy to please for the most part but some decent service goes a long way. I am sure there are many local places I have not tried but The Robin Hood and Little John in Rabley Heath and also the Grandison Arms (Bramfield) are my favourite local places. The Grandison is maybe a bit more posh than what we prefer but at least the food and service are both great, so is worth the effort to clean up a bit before going out.
The Tilbury isn’t bad either (I had one bad experience but gave them another chance and there was an improvement in the service).
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I totally agree with Queasy. His descriptions of the local pubs are pretty much spot on - and publicans wonder why people don't visit pubs anymore! The best one around is the Robin Hood in Rabley Heath. At least it's still a pub and not a pretend Islington wine bar.
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Been a few times and getting a very mixed impression. Lovely old pub with inviting fire but service seems to be a real effort with the odd grimace thrown in. Food ok and the only place in the area with decent beer. Could be great but sadly let down by the attitude, and others have said the same. There's little competition - inbreds at The Plough, G1A running Tilbury, McMullens running down the White Horse, Belmont bankrupt, Grandison a hideous bistro, Plume of Feathers squalid, the Rose & Crown a zoo. Sort the service out and the customers will come. My friends, unfortunately, won't return.
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Something is going wrong at this pub recently, has the Chef left?
I have eaten there many times, it was always ordinary, adequate pub food, nothing special but given the area, fair value.
A recent visit in a group produced extraordinary delays from the kitchen and pork & apple dish which the recipient pronounced inedible. It looked disgusting
It looked as if made from the left overs of a pork roast
The Doombar is always OK, something to be grateful for if a tad unimaginative.
Stick to the basics if you do visit here.steak & ale pie and ham an eggs are hard to get wrong.
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This used to be a wonderful pub with a small bar to the side where you could sit in front of a wonderful inglenook fire. Now, sadly that bar is never used and is uninviting. The rest of the pub is really just a restaurant and the "drinking area" is just for pre-dinner drinks. As "fugglehops" says, the cask beer is unimaginative (where has the marvellous Suffolk Ale that used to be served here gone?) and hugely overpriced (�3.40 per pint) the last time I was here. It is the most expensive pub in the area but without the quality.
I had dinner here recently - Irish Stew and it was the only one I have ever had that did not contain potatoes! Have you ever heard of that before? It was an unsubstantial dish and overpriced.The garden is nice in the summer but that's all.
Tewin - 23 Mar 2011 07:26 |
I have been longing to try the Horns for some time now and got the opportunity at the weekend.
This old timber-framed building with Tudor beams and uneven floors has a certain charm about it.
I thought the food choice was slightly limited unless you don't mind paying over �10 from the specials board. 'T' Bone steak �21, �10.50 just for Hunter's chicken.
We chose the Omelette, Bacon and Pease pudding with seasonal vegetables and Scampi and chips in a basket (I thought that died out in the seventies).
You won't be looking at your watch wondering when the food will arrive - it only seemed like ten minutes wait when it was served.
The seasonal veg' was pumpkin, swede and cabbage - not very hot and not particularly enjoyable. The omelette was ok but not great, again not hot and the chips soon got cold. The scampi in a basket was just that, scampi in a basket (much easier to eat it off a plate).
We felt that at higher than average prices the food was not satisfactory or value for money.
The first thing I look for upon entering a pub is to see what cask-ales are on offer. Noticing previous pump clips that were hanging from timber beams beside the bar looked like this could be a real-ale drinkers haven. Clips from micro-breweries from across the country were making my mouth water in anticipation.
The handpumps today though were offering Doom Bar, once a guest but now apparently a regular beer. The guest today was ...............wait for it, bloody Greene King IPA. No one in their right mind would have GK as a guest, it is found in every other pub around here. The third pump was dispensing Adnams Broadside, and this was only temporary as the overrated London Pride was going to replace it.
It makes you wonder if they ever did have the beer from the
hanging pump clips. I'm sure today's three clips won't be hanging up there beside them - we wouldn't want to put the punters off now - would we?
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I visited the Horns in March and loved the open fires that were blazing that cold, wet evening It is a beautiful, old, historic pub. Visited on a Friday evening and it was a good atmosphere with diners eating in both the restaurant and bar enjoying the crackling fire. There were also plenty of drinkers around the bar. I liked the Snug Bar and thought it was great if you want a private chat or meal with someone. The food we had was delicious. One of us had the Liver & Bacon Casserole and the other tried the Steak & Ale Pie, which came with little Horns sticking out of the puff pastry, and both were homely and tasty. We only managed one dessert between the two of us and we went for a sponge pudding and custard, which was moist and satisfying. We loved the place and are taking friends back there during April. One other point to mention is that the place was really clean and the toilets were the same. Not often the case in many establishments.
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Good looking country pub with a central real fire which is a major feature.Close to the bar is an area where you can drink ,settles are set up for diners and to the side this is a restaurant area.There is also a small lounge off the corridor to the loos,but its uninviting and not used much.Three handpumps,but only two ales on my visit 6X and Everards Equinox which were OK.However the food is expensive (most mains �12) and poor quality.Not much steak in my steak and ale pie,a pub grub standard lasagne and a fish pie with too much smoked fish,virtually no firm white cod,an overpowering cheese sauce and very heavily salted.At least on complaint this poor pie was removed from the bill.Not enough waiting/bar staff means that when the pub is busy delays occur and service becomes erratic.
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Situated in the village of Bull's Green, this pub/restaurant is a little off the beaten track but well worth a visit. Pleasant atmosphere with a real log fire and plenty of space. The choice of beers is limited, but the Bull's Green bitter can be recommended.
A good value two course lunch is offered at �7.95 and the Horns is a popular eating place for locals.
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