We had a cunning plan my mate and me, I'm not sure my partner completely agreed with it right enough but we decided to stop off at the Coach House on the way home, for lunch and rugger. It certainly looks great from the outside, an old-fashioned village inn that looks well cared for, the kind of place that you'd imagine serving traditional food under oak rafters, and in front of a roaring log fire. Well it isn't quite that internally, but it's not bad, I can't comment much cos we ended up in the public bar where the screens were.
The waitress said she'd come and serve us shortly, so we went in and I headed to the bar and immediately had an "uh-oh" moment when I was told the only tap beer on out of all the taps was Tennents, and that we'd have to pay cash. No panic though, it turns out the hotel has just been taken over so they were still sorting out some of the logistics, and then woohoo, my mate offered to pay for the whole meal! Quality!
So a quick look at the menu confirmed it was indeed a traditional pub, burgers, pies, fish and chips etc. We started watching the rugby, and after a longish wait we got to order. We all went for the classic burger option. They came quickly enough once ordered, and were not too shabby. The burgers were a decent size, clearly made on premise and were really tasty, topped as they were with an onion ring and gherkins...and that's my one complaint, too much gherkin on them. I can handle them thinly sliced but not in this quantity. I don't like gherkins much, but I took mine and passed them to someone who does, and to be honest the gherkin juice left did add something to the taste of my burger. The chips were really nicely cooked as well.
Good, honest, hearty food. I would definitely recommend this place for traditional pub grub if you're passing. read more