When you've seen one 'gastropub' you've seen them all. Perhaps not true but, until I see evidence to the contrary, that's all I've got.
The New Inn (formerly known as the Bracken Fox) is a pleasant enough place, with cosy nooks and pleasant staff but it's perhaps not the best place for a drinking session as the prices aren't the most competitive.
So, is it worth visiting for the food? Well, it's ok, I had an absolutely delicious starter of Tempura chicken fillets which tickled my taste buds rather nicely and was one of the few departures from the sort of standard safe fare commonly found in pubs.
Moving on to the main courses, I decided on a steak which was cooked exactly as I requested and was beautifully tender if a little fatty. One of my companions ordered the optional lobster tail to go with his meal but they had run out of these and substituted 3 prawns which were dry and not worth the extra £2 (fair enough, they agreed not to charge). The steaks came with a few seasoned chips\wedges, peas and half a tomato (hardly adventurous)
Another of our party has Coeliac disease and here we were majorly disappointed, there was little on the menu to suit and on asking for information about ingredients we were told that they couldn't guarantee gluten free. What sort of chef doesn't know what he\she is putting into dishes they prepare?
In the end all they could offer was a plain chicken breast, white rice and some onion and peppers which they call 'Mediterranean vegetables.
Desserts were, again, loaded with gluten and uninspiring.
I have to say that the service was great, not to pushy and there when needed.
One final, picky thing. I'm not a big bloke but I felt cramped so it might be nice if they allowed a little more table space per person. read more