The Plough Inn, Towcester

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Blackthorn _ left this review about The Plough Inn

A traditional looking pub located on the main road through this small village, it was shut for around 18 months or so before being extensively renovated and re-opened. It’s good to see an unsuccessful pub being brought back to life for a change, and judging on the number of punters in on a recent cold and dark Tuesday evening, it’s now doing quite well.

It’s divided in to two rooms, with a bar to the left and a restaurant to the right. The décor is now quite contemporary and much the same as countless other pub refurbishments with a mixture of grey and cream paintwork on the wood panelled walls and mostly grey carpet on the floor, with just some tiling around the bar. Various knick-knacks were on the window sill such as an old globe, artistic driftwood and old lamps. A plasma was mounted up on the wall which looked a little out of place, but fortunately this was not in use on my visit. Service was friendly enough, but a little haphazard with several occasions when there was no-one at the bar for prolonged periods.

Food wise, the menu was a step or two up from your usual pub grub, and it has been getting very good reviews on Trip Advisor. Most of the mains were somewhere around £13 - £15, with some of the steaks going up to £20. My fillet of haddock on a chorizo and tomato salsa was accompanied with some dauphinoise and chorizo potatoes and mixed bowl of vegetables. It was very tasty indeed and a generous portion, and good value at £13 or so I thought.

Beers on tap were Oakham’s Bishops Farewell, Tribute and Adnam’s Southwold. The solitary cider was a slightly disappointing Summersby. Overall, whilst this does have the appearance of something of a gastro-pub and has no doubt lost some of it’s character in the refurbishment, eating does seem to be primarily confined to the restaurant, or at least was on my visit with me being the only punter eating in the bar. Instead it was filled with a crowd of friendly locals enjoying a drink.

On 18^th February 2015 - rating: 7
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