Cowpers Oak, Olney

An attractive ivy covered pub in the middle of this pretty village, this seems to be a popular meeting place for the locals and whilst the food was definitely a level or two above your standard “pub grub” they have resisted the urge to go down the gastro route like so many of their contemporaries. It is perhaps a little smaller inside that you might expect, with the main part of the pub being a long, but not very deep room running along the front, although this does have some partitions to break it up a little. There is however also a dining room at the rear although I didn’t investigate this, as well as a function room that looks as though it may have been a skittle alley in a former life (assuming pubs around here had skittle alleys?). There is also a beer garden at the back adjacent to the car park. The middle section of the pub has an old stone floor which complements the stone bar counter, and there were just a couple of small tables in the window providing the very limited seating. An open, double chimney breast leads to another area off to the left and this had a couple of old leather sofas and a couple of small, high tables and chairs. Most of the seating is to be found in a red tiled room to the right, although even here there were only four, admittedly larger, tables. The decor in here is probably the most interesting with dark wood panelling covering the front and rear walls and an exposed brick wall to the right, along with an old fireplace and some shelving with a few books for you to peruse. The menu was a decent enough selection of home cooked food, and consisted of several pub classics such as Burger and Fish & Chips, along with a couple of more adventurous dishes. Prices were not unreasonable with most of the mains being around the £9 - £12 mark and I enjoyed what I had. Staff all seemed pleasant and helpful and a notice advertised a forthcoming beer festival. Beers on tap were the local (from Olney) Hopiness Hopping Mad, Woodforde’s Wherry, Doom Bar and Pedigree. The only cider was Strongbow, unfortunately.

Cowpers Oak official site with menu and wine list - www.cowpersoak.co.uk

Cowpers Oak official site with menu and wine list - www.cowpersoak.co.uk