The Three Tuns, Bedford

Official site of The Three Tuns - www.threetunsbiddenham.com

Official site of The Three Tuns - www.threetunsbiddenham.com

An attractive looking pub in this pleasant village just outside Bedford, I was initially somewhat nonplussed by the Greene King sign outside expecting to find their normal identikit menu, but on this occasion I was pleasantly surprised and there is clearly some accomplished cooking going on in the kitchen. Whether the beer aficionado will be inclined to make a special trip to sample their brews is perhaps, another matter. The pub is divided in to three rooms with a bar at the front and a lounge and restaurant at the rear. It is all quite contemporary in appearance and looks as though it may have been recently refurbished. Paintwork is mostly cream with some pale green woodwork and the flooring is a mixture of carpet, wood strip and a small amount of smooth slate tiles around the bar. There were a couple of stone fire-places in the lounge, one of them quite large with an inset wood burning stove, although neither were in use on my visit but there was a coal effect gas fire on in the bar. There are a few wooden beams on the ceiling, but these have all been painted white which I always think spoils the effect somewhat. The menu offered a fairly concise selection of dishes with most of the main courses being in the “pub grub” genre with options such as a burger, coq au vin or fish & chips. Prices were a little more than the pub average though, with the cheapest dish being £12.95. There were also a few steak and fish dishes at higher prices. I went for the prawn and white crab cakes with creamed sweetcorn and bacon, sweet chilli dressing and coriander cress and this was a very tasty dish and a generous portion. At £14.50 it wasn’t especially cheap, but I was very pleased with it and would happily return to try something else. Beers on tap were just a duo from Greene King with their IPA and Down the Dragon (infused with chilli and chocolate apparently). There was a third pump on the bar for Green Jack’s Trawlerboys but this had run out. The solitary cider was Aspall’s Suffolk which although marginally better than the usual dross around these parts is cloyingly sweet for my taste.

We had dinner in The three Tuns last night: steak, cod and salmon. They were all delicious; and the wine and beer was good too. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal, and will be back again soon. We'd recommend eating in the back garden if the weather is good, as it's so leisurely and peaceful.

Not exactly a review cos I'm the landlord here but I can tell you a little bit about us. The Three Tuns is a traditional country pub just outside of Bedford. We're open lunchtimes and evenings through the week and all day at the weekends. We serve good real ales and food as well as the normal lagers, wines etc. Our menu is traditional, mostly homemade, our most popular dishes being steaks and fresh fish which we buy in daily. We have a very popular quiz night on Wednesday evenings which starts at 9 but you'll need to get here earlier if you want to get a seat. On saturday night we do a steak night which is 2 rump steaks and a bottle of wine for £25. Good quality steaks too! We also do deals on upgrades to sirloin, fillet or T Bone. We always do 2 fish and chips for £10.00 which is a good quality hand battered fillet. We do deals on Smirnoff, Gordon's and Baccardi at £2 a shot with an upgrade to double at a further £1.50. We also do a sunday roast on Sunday. The pub is generaly quite busy. There is a good vibe here, friendly and fun. The people who drink here are all good people.