ReviewI had to call in advance to find out if this pub would be open during the day. Opening times online had quite a few discrepancies and there was no reply to messages I sent them. They did confirm that they were open all day.
This thatched pub is set in a lovely village on the Essex/Suffolk border. It has a tight car park accessed from an equally tight driveway. Look out for the nextdoor neighbour's impressive topiary effort to locate the driveway.
The side door from the driveway was locked, which suddenly got me suspecting that the pub might still be closed, in spite of my advance phone call. However, as luck would have it, the front door opened.
Entering into a small bar area with low beams, furniture reminiscent of an old parlour, quite a few children's books and toys and a disused real fire, there was seemingly nobody around. However, I soon spotted somebody else down a short corridor to the left-hand side. Here there is a further room also with access to the bar.
3 handpulls were present, with one clipped with Landlord. The 2 guys in here appeared to be father and son. The father was drinking, but it was the son who ventured behind the bar to serve me.
This room was fairly sparsely furnished, but was dominated by a large screen TV showing Italian football. Returning to the original bar, I sat amongst the children's items at a tiny table. A further room to the right-hand side appeared to be laid out for food and also appeared to lead to the toilets.
I watched with intrigue as the landlord poured a pint of Amstel and then proceeded to add a shot of Malibu to it for his father (if my assumption was correct). The thought of drinking Amstel horrifies me, but Amstel with Malibu?
I was the only customer throughout my visit. Although as I drove off, I noticed a couple of workmen entering for a drink.
I found this to be a very strange pub. But it certainly wasn't without its points of interest and sometimes its the strangest pub-going experiences that make pubs particularly memorable.
