The Coffee Pot, Towcester

Official site of The Coffee Pot - www.coffeepottavern.co.uk

Official site of The Coffee Pot - www.coffeepottavern.co.uk

Facebook page of The Coffee Pot - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Coffee Pot - www.facebook.com

An old building at the edge of the village,the very low ceiling by the entrance requires careful navigation for anyone tall.The main body of the pub has some gnarled wooden uprights with two stone faced fireplaces to the left and right with a semicurcular bar serving this room.To the side is a seperate lounge with it's own bar access and a small dog leg,probably more of a dining area as the locals gather in the main room where there is a flatscreen ,off during my visit, a mix of trad furniture,some sofas and a large banquette. At the bar TT Landlord (good nick,justifying Cask Marque) and Hooky Bitter were on offer while a third clip was reversed.Although the kitchen closes at 2.30pm on my Saturday visit the friendly barmaid kindly rustled up a baquette and a baked potato as she was not very busy. A bit of a walk from the Grand Union Canal but I enjoyed a decent ale and pub grub ,so it's worth considering if you are in the area.

Despite it’s somewhat unusual name, this is very much a proper pub, and not as you might expect, some sort of a cafe. It’s an attractive, white washed stone building, with a slightly worrying “To Let” sign mounted outside. On getting in though, I found that there was in fact a new landlord already in place and that he had been there for a full half hour! Disappointingly this meant that there was no food being served which was the main reason for my visit, but he assured me that there were plans afoot to offer a menu in the new year. The left hand bar is somewhat basic with a red tiled floor and is mostly taken up with a pool table as well as a darts board. The larger lounge bar on the right is an all together cosier affair with a few black beams on the ceiling, some old wood pillars and cream paintwork as well as a large brick fireplace with a log fire burning away, some red bench seating around the perimeter and plenty of tables and chairs. Flooring is mostly carpet, with a few slate tiles and wood strip around the bar area. There were also some smaller brick fire-places at the front of the bar, although these were not in use. There were a few locals gathered around the bar, although whether that was out of curiosity at meeting the new landlord or whether they’re a regular fixture I don’t know. There’s probably little point in mentioning the beer choice since it may very well change, but on this occasion it was Young’s Bitter and Abbott Ale, with two further pumps unused. Unfortunately the only cider on offer was Strongbow, but if the new guy’s got any sense this will be gone in no time. I don’t know the history of the pub, or why it was up for sale, but the new incumbent seems a decent enough guy and I hope he makes a success of the place. I will be back in the new year to sample the food.