The Old Talbot, Towcester

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Blackthorn _ left this review about The Old Talbot

An attractive, stone built pub on a busy main road, this was formerly a Hungry Horse but has now been refurbished in line with others in the chain I believe, and has moved more upmarket.

The bar area at the front is pleasant enough in a contemporary gastro-pub sort of way, with sanded pine boards on the floor, a wood panelled bar, a sagging ceiling with a few beams and chunky wooden supports and a massive stone built fire-place at one end with a black chimney hood that had a real log fire blazing away. Seating here was limited, with a few large leather sofa’s and low tables, plus a high table or two in the window. There were numerous poinsettia plants dotted around, although this may have been the remnants of the Christmas decorations perhaps.

At the back was a larger open plan room with a vaulted ceiling, and to the left an area that was clearly more aimed at diners with all the tables being laid up for food. That said, if you were there to eat it was a nice spot with the front half having more pine boards on the floor, and a straw coloured carpet at the rear. There was a small stone fireplace, although this was not in use, and the paintwork was a mixture of cream and chocolate brown, with a white-washed stone wall at the rear.

The menu was very much of the gastro-pub genre with most of the mains approaching the £15 mark, and even the cheapest dish was well over a tenner. That said, my “Chicken breast wrapped in pancetta with pasta and spinach in a creamy white wine and mushroom sauce” was decent enough and a generous portion. Staff all seemed pleasant enough.

Beers on tap were just Abbot Ale and Moorland Original. The solitary cider was Aspall’s Suffolk. This is by no means a bad pub, and I’m sure far better than it’s previous incarnation. Ultimately though, with the emphasis on food and a limited choice of beers and places to drink I cannot mark it too highly on a PUB review website.

On 5^th January 2012 - rating: 6
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