The Old Green Man, Milton Keynes

Recently re-opened, refurbished and under new management, this now describes itself as a “Country pub and Restaurant” which gives you a clue as to what it’s priorities are. It consists of a L-shaped bar area along with a restaurant section down a couple of steps to the left. It was very quiet on a recent Tuesday evening visit with no other punters in the bar the whole time I was there, although there were a few eating in the restaurant. Although I didn’t visit prior to the refurbishment, it’s obviously that it has had something of a makeover and now has a very contemporary appearance with Farrow & Ball pale green paintwork and a mixture of flagstones and strip wood flooring. Seating in the bar area is very limited, although it’s not a bad size most of the space seemed to be just that – space. The seating that was there consisted of a few leather armchairs clustered around low tables and one circular table to seat five or six. I didn’t even notice any bar stools. An old fireplace was off to one side that housed a wood burning stove, although it looked as though it may have been more decorative than functional. As is popular these days, a selection of artwork for sale was dotted around the walls. The restaurant area was off to one side, and appeared to be split in to two with a partition wall between them. This too looked very contemporary, and the end wall in one half was made up of log ends, perhaps supposed to look like a stack of logs ready for the fire. The menu itself was fairly concise with four or five pub classics such as Fish & Chips, Ham & Chips, etc, a similar number of Thai dishes along with a few salads and such like. Prices for the main courses started at around £9 and went upwards – my shredded duck breast with stir-fry noodles and a spicy sauce was a pleasant and tasty dish, and there was a decent amount of it. Whether it was worth £12 though, I’m slightly unsure. Beer choice was disappointing with just Greene King IPA being available, although I did see pumps for Old Speckled Hen and Abbot Ale which appeared to have run out. The solitary cider was Aspall’s Suffolk. Overall this is a decent enough place for what it is, but it’s difficult to score it highly as a pub either in terms of ambience or beer choice.