The Fox & Hounds, Milton Keynes

An unusual boozer this. To the right is a basic bar which didn't have any furniture in at all on our Friday evening visit but did have a band tuning up. Perhaps the place was set up in anticipation of an active mosh pit developing. To the the left feels more like a gastropub than anything with wooden floor, mismatched wood furniture and an eclectic clientele. Perhaps the bar area does have furniture except on music evenings. Beers on were London Pride, Tribute, Purity Mad Goose, Hawkshead Bitter and Vale Brill Gold for a slightly more local choice. Not the most inspirational range but the Mad Goose was in decent shape. Another solid choice in Stony Stratford to include on a crawl.

At one end of town ,but close to the other high street pubs,the interior splits into two halves,the right a small public bar where live music occurs,the left a comfortable restaurant and lounge with traditional furniture and it's own serving counter.The two bar are joined by a winding corridor and many old features can be spotted,it's quite charming. There are 5 handpumps and I plumped for a regular in Purity Mad Goose (good nick).The atmosphere was lively and was popular with pub crawlers on my Friday evening visit.I would pop in again for a decent pint.

A decent enough and friendly pub located in the heart of Stony’s historic High Street. The right hand bar is a basic affair with rough wooden flooring, a curious mustard and burgundy paint scheme as well as some exposed stone walls. There were a few high tables and chairs, and a raised area at the front for use by bands, and there was a pile of sound equipment stacked up ready for the next event. At the rear was a Northamptonshire skittles game, and there was a match in progress on a recent Wednesday evening visit. The left hand lounge bar is somewhat cosier, with plenty of tables and chairs, salmon paintwork on the ceiling and fairly lights adoring the beams. Beyond this is an area designated as a restaurant, although nobody was eating in there on this occasion and I got the impression you’d be quite welcome to just have a pint. This looks as though it may have recently been refurbished, and was an attractive area with exposed stone walls, some fresh plaster lower down, a few beams, and a massive brick fireplace that took up almost an entire wall, although unfortunately all it had it in was some twigs and fir cones. There were some decent colour photographs on the wall, and these were for sale at £17 which struck me as a reasonable price, and they were accompanied by a note saying that proceeds would go towards funding the photographer’s studies which I thought was a nice touch. The menu was fairly limited and consisted of half a dozen or so “pub grub” dishes such as Scampi and Chips, Ham, Egg & Chips, Steak and Ale Pie, etc., priced at around the £6 - £7 mark. There was also a specials board offering Stuffed Cabbage or a Cheese Toastie, neither of which struck me as that special if I’m honest. Food was pleasant enough though as long as your expectations weren’t too high, but then at that price they shouldn’t be. The condiments were brought to the table in a miniature beer barrel, which was unusual. Bar staff seemed friendly enough. Beers on tap were Tribute, Timothy Taylor Landlord, London Pride and Adnams. Cider choice was a little disappointing, with just Aspall’s Suffolk.

The Fox and Hounds is now back open! Has been since October 09 under new management, food available, 4 real ales on, currently timothy taylor,st austell, wots occuring and VPA. Live music every tues and fri, great beer garden!

Although this pub does a good range of rotating guest ales it lacks atmosphere.The decor is very clinical and although the staff are friendly and the beer was in great condition it lacks that welcoming feeling.