The Cock, Northampton

Official site of The Cock - cockatroade.co.uk

Official site of The Cock - cockatroade.co.uk

A pleasant and popular village local, the pub is divided in to two sections, one being very much a bar for drinking and the other more of a restaurant along with a small beer garden at the rear. The couple running it were friendly and helpful. The bar area is a L-shape room with pale green paintwork and cream wood cladding on the lower part of the walls. It’s got a traditional appearance with a carpeted floor and various local pictures on the walls. There are many cockerel related items around as befits the pub’s name, such as a large china cockerel behind the bar as well as another in the fireplace and various cockerel pictures on the walls and even a cockerel clock. Besides this there were other local pictures on the wall and various notices such as “Be nice or go home”, as well as various other ornaments such as jugs and other nic-nacs. There were a couple of plasmas at either end, although these were not in use on a recent visit, despite the Manchester derby match that was on that night. One end of the bar also has a darts board, and it appeared that a tournament was in progress on a recent visit. There were also a few card games behind the bar. The restaurant area at the front has a homely feel and has a similar decor to the main bar. It was split in to two with a free-standing chimney breast separating the two halves. The menu offered an extensive choice of “pub grub” dishes and consisted of a dozen or so main course options at around the £9 - £10 mark, as well as a number of “gourmet” burgers, sandwiches and Panini’s. A small specials board offered another three or four dishes. The food I sampled though was a little disappointing, and didn’t really live up to expectations or price. There was nothing particularly wrong with my Mushroom & Stilton Risotto, but it was somewhat on the stodgy side and had little discernable Stilton taste. Deserts were half a dozen or so choices as well as several Movenpick ice creams. Besides this, pickled eggs, onions and jars of cockles were available from behind the bar. Beers on tap were Phipps IPA, Young’s Bitter and Nobby’s Best. Ciders were Strongbow and Old Rosie.