The Cock Inn, Leighton Buzzard

A very large pub in the centre of the village, this has a traditional white-washed appearance and looks as though it may have be made up of several cottages that have been knocked in to one. It's divided up in to a few different areas, although primarily these consist of a large bar and a large restaurant. The restaurant area is to the right and is quite attractive, although it's a shame that the large brick fire-place has been partially panelled over and is clearly no longer used. Similarly a large wine rack in the entrance way is decorative only. The bar area is an L-shape with a small snug off to one side, and an open space at the rear. All in all the decor is quite inoffensive although nothing particularly remarkable. Carpet covers most of the floor, and there is plenty of wood around including a few oak beams on the ceiling and wood panelling on the lower part of the walls. Another brick fire-place was in one corner, but this too was unused as although it contained a wood burning stove, this was adorned with decorative fir cones. A plasma was mounted up above it. I'm not quite sure of the purpose of the small open space at the rear other than a couple of sofa's providing good views of the car park. The snug to the left has a couple of leather arm-chairs in front of yet another unused fire-place but any potential cosiness was somewhat spoilt by another plasma up on the wall and a couple of fruit machines. There were a number of locals sat at the bar and some of the language was rather colourful. The menu was a mass produced laminated affair and was extremely comprehensive, including various sections such as mains, burgers, curries, grills, pasta and salads and even Big 'n' Mighty. I counted in excess of 50 choices for main course alone, which can only lead me to conclude they have some very large freezers. Most of the mains were around the £8 - £9 range, although many were available as part of a "2 for £12" deal. My Char Siu Pork which consisted of marinated strips of pork in a spicy honey and ginger sauce was actually quite tasty, but I'm under no illusions about it being freshly prepared. Some of the desert options had tie-in's with chocolate manufactures, prominently listing various Cadbury & Nestle products amongst their ingredients. The solitary beer on offer was Tring's Side Pocket for a Toad. There were a couple of other pumps on the bar, one with it's clip turned round and one with nothing on it. Perhaps Landlord is usually on going on the beer mats. The solitary cider was Strongbow, unfortunately.