Called in at the request of the owner to update my review as the property changed hands some time…read moreago. We called in at the request of the owner to update my review as the property changed hands some time ago. I'm pleased to be able to see that everything appeared in good order, including the once tired car park. The bar area is tiny, only one table and a couple of chairs, so this is now very much a foodie pub rather than a local's drinking establishment. The restaurant area isn't huge, probably around 45 covers, and on the evening we called was very busy so reservations are recommended. There is a lunch time and evening menu, but there is a huge overlap between them. We called in the evening where there was a standard menu and a small specials menu with one starter, two mains and one pudding on it. One of the standard fishcake starters had been changed to a different mix of fish, and one of the standard mains changed during the evening from chicken to guinea fowl, so there does seem to be some additional variation on the menu. I had the crab and prawn fishcake starter, which was tasty and served with a small dressed salad. I followed this with chicken wrapped in bacon Grilled chicken supreme wrapped in smoked bacon and stuffed with pork, leek and herbs served with a sweet creamy Madeira sauce: this came with a choice of potatoes (I went with Gratin) and a mixture of vegetables (green beans, carrots and broccoli). My partner had a fillet steak but asked to change the Rossini-style presentation with pate for a green peppercorn sauce which they happily agreed to. The steak came with green beans wrapped in bacon, sautéed mushrooms and hand cut chips. In general all the food was really pretty good. The steak was a little over-salted and the green beans were burnt at the ends (doesn't show up too clearly in the available light picture) which is disappointing. We finished off with Bailey's Belgian chocolate crème brûlée and a sticky toffee pudding with salted caramel sauce and honeycomb ice cream. Both were very good, although the crème brûlée didn't taste that much of Baileys. Overall it was much better than my previous visit. The food was good, but could be better. Similarly the service was slightly lacking: nobody ever asked us if the food was OK whilst we were eating it, and sometimes getting someone to provide something took a couple of attempts on occasions. Overall worth a look if you want some home cooked good pub grub.

Now this is an English pub! We took my parents here their first night visiting us in England and my…read morefather said it was the best meal he had the entire trip (2 weeks and we even went into London and over to Galway during that time). The pub decor could be described as cozy and quaint. It has low ceilings and the historic accents and a thatched roof. There is a nice little fireplace inside but it isn't live. We found the food to be excellent and the service was equally as great. We live close by so we will definitely be coming back again!

Best bitter in Towcester, inexpensive and well presented…read more Ignore the map, the pub is on the main A5 between the traffic lights and the Town Hall

Great food, great service though a bit slow today as it was busy and only one lad serving!read more

My husband and I came here for dinner a few weeks ago after much anticipation. We had heard some…read moregreat things about 185 Watling but we also heard so-so things as well, so we decided to find out for ourselves. Let me just preface this with the fact that 185 Watling is probably the nicest restaurant in terms of aesthetics in Towcester. The decor is really fabulous and the energy in the restaurant is certainly bustling. There really is no competition for them, so now I understand why we had to take a 9pm reservation (we didn't book far in advance). Overall, service was great and attentive. We really enjoyed our time here but the food was just hit or miss. For a starter we decided to share the charcuterie board and to be honest, it was basically just like eating some ham slices from Tesco and some other meats. Overall it was a weak dish and typically meat dishes are enough to share - my husband and I were battling each other for the meat (literally two pieces of ham and two pieces of chorizo and then a chunk of foie gras). For the mains, they knocked it out of the park (excuse the expression, it's American for REALLY F'ING GOOD). My husband had the porterhouse steak and I had the fish special. We both were really happy with our meals and were basically licking the plate at the end. The dessert (which I can't remember if it was a special or if it has just been removed from the menu) was some weird merengue with rhubarb and it was just disappointing. It was our anniversary so they gave us a complimentary glass of Prosecco (which was very kind of them) and we were able to sit at our table and polish off a second bottle of wine without feeling rushed. I feel really bad giving them three stars and hope that next time we visit that the food has improved, because the service and the ambieance was really fantastic.

I loved this place so much I ate there twice in the 4 days I stayed in town. Get the lamb and mint…read morepie. You won't regret it.

My husband and I came here last night to catch the second half of the England vs Australia rugby…read moregame after dinner. It seemed fine from the outside so we decided to pop in. The pub is very tiny and the layout is kind of odd shaped. The crowd here was very interesting. It was a definite split between people barely legal or perhaps just legal to drink and then the over 40 crowd, who were definitely regulars. We weren't here very long, but I found the service from the bar to be quick and the bartenders were friendly.

Really tasty carvery on a Sunday and amazing fish on a Wednesday night best I've ever had! Nice…read morefor a drink and a bite to eat but prices seem to be creeping up (£11.95 for chicken and bacon salad!) which means other local restaurants offer better value.