The Dove, Portfields, Newport Pagnell

A relatively modern pub on the outskirts of Newport Pagnell, it was built I suppose in the 1970’s or thereabouts along with the surrounding housing estate. It’s a single room, U-shape pub with something of a feature made of the high vaulted ceilings, although other than that it has little in the way of any character. The lease is currently for sale, but it was reasonably busy for a Tuesday night and the barmaid was very friendly. Much of the pub has floor to ceiling windows on two sides which along with the high ceilings must make for a light and airy ambience in the warmer weather. In some ways the pub has something of a sports bar feel with two pool tables at one end, a darts board in the corner and a couple of projector screens showing sports channels. This did not seem to dominate though, at least not until they turned down the pleasant background music and turned up the commentary on the football. The pub is carpeted throughout and the paintwork is a mixture of cream on the upper part of the walls and mustard on the lower part. Various exposed brick pillars were dotted around, and at one end there was some dark wood panelling on the ceiling along with a small shelf of trophies and a shield. The menu offered a decent looking selection of pub grub dishes divided in to sections such as snacks/sharing, jackets, burgers, sandwiches and every day dishes, the latter consisting of ham egg & chips, scampi & chips, sausage & mash, steak and Guinness pie, etc., all priced at £6.95. Unfortunately the “chef’s specials” were only available on a Friday and Saturday which seemed odd. Can’t he be bothered to do anything special on other days? My Chilli Con Carne with rice, nachos and sourced cream (and a few lettuce leaves???) was a generous portion and whilst not especially tasty it did what it said on the tin. Beers on tap were a little disappointing with Greene King IPA being the only real ale available. Even worse, the solitary cider was Strongbow. Overall I’m sure this is a decent enough pub for the locals, but it’s unlikely to be a destination of choice for anyone visiting from outside the area.