The Plough Inn, Kingham

I love this pub. It will no doubt grate with some beerintheevening drinkers, but looking at its offering, there's no doubting that some serious homework has taken place here.
The chef is a Heston Blumenthal prodigy, but has taken on the task of creating a proper English pub menu very seriously indeed. Meals are on the pricey side (we spent about �130 on lunch for two � although we did have a cheeky glass of bubbly to begin, and stretched our waistbands for the full three courses). A very affordable bar snack menu is also available and their pork pies and Scotch eggs are to die for.
Simply, pleasingly renovated, celebrating local microbrewers (it's free of tie with Hooky and some local ciders on tap) and food producers, this is a new breed of local. And whether you like it or not, The Plough is forging a new way for country and village pubs in this country.

14 May 2008 13:54

The Lord Poulett Arms, Hinton St George

A brilliant pub, oozing character. Sensitively refurbed. The staff are superstars: we went on a packed Monday night and the two girls serving food AND working the bar were just brilliant. We had to wait a while as it was so busy, but were kept in the loop by them and offered a drink on the house. As well as some more high-end dishes, there were some generous portions priced at a tenner.
Lovely wine, the real ale deal with the barrels at the back of the bar and a really lovely mix of locals and visitors to the area.
The rooms upstairs (where we stayed) have been beautifully done: apart from a very creaky vintage French framed bed that kept us awake! Loos are across the corridor to a couple of the rooms, but it's your own loo and they provide robes to hide the embarrassment!
Love it. Great pub. Good food. Excellent staff. Good beer. Couple of local ciders. Great wine list. Highly recommended.

14 May 2008 13:42

The Bath Arms, Horningsham

I had a very generous portion of macaroni cheese (a great, creamy, comforting, oozing dish) as a starter and needed nothing else. Quirky, and full of diners on a midweek lunchtime. (Some may see that as bad, others as good � me? I like a pub that's got some atmosphere and people in it, rather than just some weird guy at the bar chewing tobacco and making a pint last for the entire week...).
Service was aloof (very). Location was good. Lovely outside terrace. The d�cor kind of hit the spot for me. Trying to be metropolitan, boutique hotel cool, but a bit off the mark. I found the large plastic dustbins sat in the middle of the bar area not a particularly brilliant design touch. A definite lack of attention to detail.
But... saying all that, I still liked it. And would go back.

14 May 2008 13:37

The Somerset Arms, Maiden Bradley

Not boarded up at all. (Those are the blinds on the windows in the photograph!!)
New landlords moving in soon so I've heard on the grapevine (July, I think). An amazing location, so hopefully it will reflect this and become a real destination pub and a great one for the locals in the village. And maybe even the Duke of Somerset himself!

14 May 2008 13:32

The Queens Arms, Corton Denham

With country pubs closing down at a rate of three a day, what beer drinkers have to understand is that landlords need to a) make money and b) attract new people to their pubs in order to survive. It's all very well harking back to the "traditional West Country pub" but spit-and-sawdust and some grunty, obscure local ales do not pay the rent, the employees' liability insurance, the water rates, the cost of staff and paying National Insurance, and so on and so on and so on.
That said, treating local-locals as second-rate citizens compared to the visiting Londoners is not on.
BUT when I visited this pub, the welcome me and my folks received was of the warmest variety. Informative about the pub, the local area, cosy, relaxed, welcoming of my large dog and with great service.
I guess it's about where you feel comfortable. But just because a pub has a lot of (well-heeled) visitors from outside of its environs doesn't make it a bad place. Inns were, traditionally, stopping-off places for weary travellers as much as they were social places for the people that lived near them, after all.
A defintion of an "authentic" West Country pub would be most appreciated....

14 May 2008 13:30