King & Queen, Aylesbury

This town pub has 3 rooms. We didn't try what appeared to be the largest room, which may have been used for diners. Instead, we ordered from the small bar, which had a handful of locals, some sat at the bar and blocking service. A third room leading from the bar to the outdoor drinking area was empty. Timothy Taylor Landlord & Young's Ordinary are the standard beers here. They also had a guest beer, which was Almasty Simple Pleasures. Only at the last minute before ordering did I notice a small blackboard at the end of the bar displaying 4 real ciders. As it happened, only the Weston's Old Rosie & Flat Tyre were still available. The garden area was nice in the sunshine. Much of it is undercover, for wetter days. After a number of country gastropubs, it was nice to be back to normality in more of a drinkers' pub.

Good Beer Guide 2020 entry and its a lovely traditional affair. Door to the left leads to a bar - to the right a bar/restaurant. Nice looking beer garden. Got to talk about the beer. Amongst the blue plaques to fallen former drinkers there is an award from Timothy Taylors. Not seen one of these before but totally deserved. One of the best pints of Landlord I've ever had. And there have been a few!

Official site of King & Queen - www.thekingandqueenwendover.co.uk

Official site of King & Queen - www.thekingandqueenwendover.co.uk

A Punch Taverns franchise, this is an odd business. The building is historically and architecturally important and interesting, it is quaint and mysterious. The business is typical Punch – haphazard. There are two separate bars at the front and a small dining/function room at the back. There are low ceilings with fake rafters and there is a 1990s fireplace to add to the chaos. The staff were friendly enough but it was difficult to gauge the clientele as the only people in apart from us and the staff were the local Round Table diehards. Food was basic but good, well cooked and served in large portions. There were three ales on, and we were offered tasters before we bought. I tried the Marston's New World but it was well and truly off, so I settled on Young's Bitter which was drinkable but not great. The place tries to be a proper ale house with traditional pub food, but somehow doesn't quite hit the mark. If they could sort out their beer quality, I would be happy to include on a crawl.