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Cow & Plough, Leicester

Pub added by elizabeth mcgraw
Gartree Road
Oadby
Postal town: Leicester
LE2 2FB
Phone: 01162720852

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Reviews (Current Rating Average: of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Quinno _ left this review about Cow & Plough

Seems bigger than I remembered from 10 years (argh!) ago. Seven ales on, 2x Steaming Billy, 2x Belvoir, Abbeydale Moonshine, GK Rockin Rudolf and London Pride. Tried three over the course of a mini-session and all were GBG quality. Lots of kids, most were well-behaved bar two ear-piercing squealers opposite which rather took the edge of things and the staff were too hopeless to have a quiet word, so I had to do it myself. So it’s still a good pub but I the staff need to manage the place better. The customer is not always right.

July 2007
A good range of beer in this recently converted farm outhouse, including the Steamin' Billy range and a number of brews from the Midlands, plus some real cider. A shame the farm (which was open to the public) has gone, blame DEFRA for that during foot and mouth, killing off the countryside. Still, at least we have this gem in its place. Lots of salvaged olde worlde pub décor inside (which makes you realise how many pubs have been raped by developers of the past few years) which gives it a good ambience, though it does incline to the cold side quite often - take a jumper. Lots of characters in residence, could easily lose a few hours in here chatting to folk. Food is available. Grab a bus (one of Leicester's strong points) and come out here for an afternoon, it really is worth it. Rated 9

On 26th December 2017 - rating: 7
[User has posted 5043 recommendations about 5026 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Pub SignMan left this review about Cow & Plough

This pub on the fringes of Oadby, is the home of the Steaming Billy brewery and occupies a large old farm building on what now appears to be a small light industrial estate/retail park. The building is very long and split into two halves lengthways, with the first entrance taking you into the main bar area. This is a long, narrow room with a high gabled ceiling and a relatively short bar counter midway through the room. The bar has a pastel shaded counter and simple bar back flanked by two lovely old Ind Coope lamps. Bench and chair seating options are available opposite the bar under the front windows, with stained and etched glass partitioning screens bearing the brewery name and logo creating some semblance of privacy. Either side of the bar there are some deep padded chairs available, all offering good spots to admire the breweriana on display throughout the room including a huge Hoskins and Oldfield mirror next to some nice old Bass and Sam Smith's signs and a large picture of a cow. There is a nice old 'Vaults' window at one end of the room, clearly lifted from elsewhere, a satisfying collection of soda fountains and various bits of earthenware on show. It all adds up to a quirky feel, aided by the antler light shades and ceiling beams covered in more Ind Coope memorabilia, with only a single TV screen offering any sort of alternative visual distraction. To the left of the main entrance there is a long restaurant area with lots of tables pre-set and reserved for Sunday diners. It is a similar shape to the main bar and has some fantastic old pub signs for the likes of the Guido Inn and the Rose & Shamrock hung from the beams. A second bar can be found to the rear of the main servery, with it's own counter. The room has a lower ceiling and a lot more seating under additional breweriana including shelves full of bottles, barrels and the like. The room was also hosting a stag do group, so I gave it a wide berth and instead went to admire the fine collection of pub signs in the corridor leading to the toilets, including an old Tolly Cobbold sign and one for the Cow and Plough. Pop music played in the background throughout my stay but sanctuary was available for those unable to stomach it, thanks to a plentiful supply of outdoor seating options.
I was expecting the full range of Steaming Billy beers on the bar, but only Billy and Skydiver were on, supplemented by guests in the form of Brains Reverend James, Rudgate Ruby Mild, Windsor & Eton Guardsman and Belvoir Whipling. I tried the Billy, which took about ten minutes to pour thanks to a barrel change earlier in the day which had left it so lively that filling a glass appeared to be almost impossible. Thankfully it was in pretty good shape, but the barman was pretty gruff, vanishing without warning for a good five minutes midway through the fiasco and offering no apology for the long wait. Thankfully the beer was pretty good but had I not made such an effort to get here, I would've been tempted to give up and try somewhere else.
Putting that aside, I really liked this place and thought it was a well thought through venture offering something a little bit different from your average pub experience with the bonus of some decent beer brewed on site. I'm not sure how comfortable the high ceilings and stone floors would be on a cold winter's night, but on a hot summer's day it was a great place to stop off for a pint or two and I was very glad I made the effort to get out here.

On 3rd July 2017 - rating: 8
[User has posted 3102 recommendations about 3102 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Real Ale Ray left this review about The Cow and Plough

We took Trainmans advice and got the no 22 bus outside Leicester Railway Station and arrived in Evington 20 mins later. It was only a 10 min walk from here to the Cow and Plough. It seemed to take longer to walk to the pub entrance door, as the pub is so long. Once through the doors you can see that it was well worth a visit. Steaming Billy Bitter and Skydiver featured on this visit. We were slightly disappointed not to see their Fisherman's Tipple on this visit, as this would be our favourite SB beer. We found the SB Bitter to be quite flavourless. There were also four guest beers and two ciders.

On 4th February 2014 - rating: 9
[User has posted 3376 recommendations about 3376 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


train man left this review about Cow & Plough

Well, I was here again 08Apr & very much enjoyed another visit. Our group was somewhat taken aback to find the place so busy before 13:00 on a Wednesday, but they had a jazz band already swinging and a strong representation from some of the more, ahem, senior local populace. I suspect they must do midweek food offers too, as most seemed to be lunching. Yes, we had to wait a few minutes to be served but nothing untoward, given how popular the place was that day, and not at all for the 2nd round. The choice of beers was very good, and included my beer-of-the-day, the extraordinary (limited edition) Wellington from Millstone. The young ladies behind the bar displayed no poor ‘attitude' as suggested elsewhere, and happily offered to phone me a taxi when I'd simply asked for a local number. And the gents loos were fine. It all makes a once-only Bite reviewer's comment rather mysterious…

7 May 2008
ps. if you were less than impressed with the mention of Billy's pictorial adventures on his pumpclips, you have to bear in mind that he is a Jack Russell terrier...

6 May 2008
Exceptional. Kept this one for the post-crawl Sun debrief and it was all we hoped it would be. The beers from Steamin Billy were SB Bitter, Skydiver, Grand Prix Mild, SB Country Bitter, also Burton Bridge Shy Teaser, Leatherbritches Copper Mountain, among those ‘coming soon' were beers from Ossett, Salopian, Tring. I think we tried all those served on the day and each was in immaculate condition. In addition, 8+ ciders were listed incl Old Rosie & Steamin Billy Country, ales avg £2.50, ciders £3. As we sat outside at one of the many picnic sets opposite other ex farm buildings the partner of the brewer stopped by for a chat about the brewery (in Burton), the beers & their other pubs & outlets, he seemed genuinely pleased at how much we were enjoying the range. The look of the large long building from the outside looks a little new, but step inside for a much more rustic country atmos, with an eclectic mix of solid wood furniture and the length of the rafters adorned throughout with hops. Breweriana abounds, especially in the two rooms to the rear (opp rear section of bar) where the low lighting suggests a decent bolt hole to escape inclement weather. A small blackboard offered a dozen diff fruit wines (12-14%), and check out the eponymous Billy on his pumpclips, driving in Grand Prix, parachuting on the Skydiver etc. At the far end is a very nice looking restaurant, polished glasses shining on bleached wood tables, sorry I forgot to check out the menu, the bar also offers light lunches which looked good & filling. It's a shame there is no bus route down Gartree rd, but the 22 from Leic to Evington (15mins) leaves you a 10min downhill stroll to the pub & our taxi back to Leic stn was £8. I'm tempted to award my first ‘10' but the search must continue.

On 27th April 2009 - rating: 9
[User has posted 412 recommendations about 411 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


matt england left this review about The Cow and Plough

Got to be up there in the top three pubs in the county. Stacked with pub memorabilia collected by the landlord, up to 6 well kept real ales, farm ciders, country wines. Tasty, unpretentious food, in seperate restaurant. Dogs allowed. Only negative is lack of a nice garden.

On 18th February 2008 - rating: 10
[User has posted 61 recommendations about 61 pubs]