The Talbot, Loughton, Milton Keynes

Traditional, brick built village pub, long since reimagined as a multi-roomed dining pub. There are five hand pumps on the bar (see photo) and my London Pride was pretty good (NBSS 3). Cask ales are £1 per pint off on Mondays and Thursdays - I happened to be here on a Tuesday so paid £4.95. This pub seemed better than the previous reviews had prepared me for.

The Talbot's page on the Ember Inns website - www.emberinns.co.uk

The Talbot's page on the Ember Inns website - www.emberinns.co.uk

The Talbot is an Ember Inns pub in the Loughton area to the west of Milton Keynes. Although, it's not too far (about a 20 minute walk) from Milton Keynes Central station. We arrived by car. The pub has a car park, but in common with other pubs from this chain, you have to register your vehicle at the bar on a tablet, or face a hefty fine. Inside there is a lengthy bar ahead of you as you arrive, with plenty of seating areas off to the left, the right and adjacent to the bar. However, the ale choice was fairly limited here. Black Sheep Twilighter appeared to be on. Although the pumpclip was resting against a handpull, as opposed to being clipped. The guest beer was Best Bitter also from Black Sheep. What I would have given for something as unusual as what Gill Smith found in 2018! It's probably the reason why the pub has dropped out of the Good Beer Guide over the last couple of years. Poor as Ember Inns go, but probably ok for cheap food.

Called in here while visiting Buckinghamshire's 2019 Good Beer Guide pubs. There was an impressive selection of ales across 12 handpumps in here and we selected Rudgate Hp for Heroes and By The Horns Hopadelic, both of which was fine.