Broughton Hotel, Broughton, Milton Keynes

A relatively new pub even by Milton Keynes standards, it is part of the Greene King Hungry Horse chain and also includes accommodation. It’s a good sized pub in it’s own grounds, and I understand that the original nearby village of Broughton is a pleasant spot although I have yet to investigate this. Internally, the pub consists of a number of interconnected areas which also seem to be for multi-purpose drinking or dining use. Décor wise it has the usual generic mass produced look with a red patterned carpet on the floor, some tiling around the bar area and paintwork in various shades of brown, salmon and mustard. Some large windows along the front make the most of the outlook, such as it is, and there were a few random vases and such like dotted around on shelves. A number of plasma screens showed either sports or news channel, although the volume was muted so this was not too intrusive. There was however a forthcoming football fixture advertised so it would appear that this is not always the case. There was also a darts board and a pool table at one end. The food menu offered a very extensive range of dishes and even the fussiest of eaters should be able to find something that would suit. It was divided in to sections such as Steaks, Burgers, Baguettes, Big Plates, Classics, Curries, etc., and these were mostly priced somewhere around a fiver, give or take. A meal deal of some sort was also available most nights. My Chicken Tikka Masala was not too bad at all as long as you’re happy to accept that it’s not going to be freshly prepared on the premises. It was a generous portion with decent chunks of chicken and the accompanying poppadum came with a pot of mango chutney, mint sauce and cucumber/onion which is not something you usually get in a pub. On the downside, the poppadum was undercooked in places and the advertised garnish of fresh coriander was conspicuous by it’s absence. Beers on tap were Abbott Ale and Greene King IPA. A third pump had it’s clip reversed but appeared to be something from Edmunds. The solitary cider was Strongbow unfortunately. Overall this wasn’t a bad pub, and the staff were all very friendly, but it’s never going to be a destination of choice for the discerning beer drinker or diner.

The Hungry Horse site, which includes no pages for its pubs - www.hungryhorse.co.uk

The Hungry Horse site, which includes no pages for its pubs - www.hungryhorse.co.uk