It is always difficult writing a review when you were a guest of someone else…read more A small pub, with a few covers (c. 32?). I guess my son hadn't been there before, as he had requested a table for 8 (including children), and a place away from the other diners. Mainly due to having a 4 yo and a 1 yo in the group. Unfortunately, due to the size of the place this wasn't possible. The pub came recommended apparently. The service was extremely slow given the fact that we had young children and they were getting restless. My daughter-in-law had to ask for them to take the orders in the end. The restaurant part of the pub was empty by the time we got our mains. Our table was booked for 1 pm and we arrived in good time. We left, in the end at about 3:45 pm. It was a long time with youngsters. The staff (possibly the owners) were extremely pleasant. I had as my starter: Bowl of Steamed Mussels, Shallots, White Wine & Cream £8.00 Main: Pan Fried Calf's Liver, Crispy Bacon, Mash, Greens & Horseradish Cream £13.50 Sweet: Warm Sticky Ginger Pudding, Vanilla Ice Cream & Toffee Sauce £5.50 The starter was superb, and I didn't have to ask for a finger bowl. I can't believe it was calf's liver. There was very little, and overcooked, and tough. As I say I was the guest so I said nothing. My wife had the same main, and given the price we were both disappointed. The liver was resting on a bed of mashed potatoes, and the greens were a few sprigs of broccoli stems. My son had the pork belly, and that looked great.... Wished I'd chosen that instead.... There were a number of items on the men that I also fancied, but I chose the wrong one. The sweet didn't seem to be homemade, but it was nice, although the alleged stem ginger wasn't found. The children's menu - is good value: Fish Fingers, Chips & Peas - Not you normal view of fish fingers, they were big , and definitely homemade. Spaghetti Bolognaise Roast Chicken Breast, Chips & Peas Grilled Steak, Chips & Peas - my younger son (9 yo) had this and was very pleased. It had the colour of veal. Cooked medium with no blood. Vanilla Ice Cream, Toffee Sauce Two Courses £5.50 They had a very extensive wine list, but I felt slightly overpriced. For example: 2010 Maison Favier Châteauneuf du Pape Reserve des Oliviers, Rhône, France £39.00. Would I return? Not with young children. If I lived in the village, I'd try to sample more. If I was visiting my son again..... I would suggest it wasn't worth the 12 mile drive from his house.... Shame, because on the surface it does look like they are trying to be a cut above.

Came again for lunch and had steak sandwich, side salad and the most amazing home made chips. I am…read morenot a great fan of horse radish but this was very good. The size of the meal was awesome and as for quality; amazing. You will be disappointed if you want a bargain meal but you get what you pay for. Staff very friendly and efficient making a lovely afternoon out with the family extremely pleasant.

Lovely little village pub. Tucked out the way from just off the A1 in a little village called…read moreStretton. Although the bar is very small, there is ample seating inside for good honest food. Highly recommended

I came here for Sunday lunch today at this pub which strikes a good balance between its pub parts…read more(a bar that seemed to be popular with the locals) and its restaurant part (which was where we were and was equally busy). A set lunch was on offer at excellent value (2 courses for £18, £3 more for a third course). The atmosphere was lively with a friendly buzz of contented patrons in both the bar and the restaurant. However, it is the food which really shines. It all starts positively with good quality bread (sourced from a local bakery) which was generously sliced and served with butter at room temperature (cold butter being a pet hate). My starter was a wood pigeon salad. The wood pigeon (cooked rare) was delicious. The main was equally accomplished - roast supreme of chicken with well seasoned crispy skin served on a pearl barley mushroom risotto which provided welcome texture and a creamy sauce. Unfortunately, I had no time for desert. However, they certainly did look delicious and I will be returning soon (with more time) to get involved with the pudding part of the menu. So, its good value, serves excellent food. What is not to like? Not a lot for me - and I don't appear to be in a minority as it seemed to be popular. Hopefully it will continue to go from strength to strength.

A nice hearty pub in a good location. Decent selection of ales and food. Only draw back is you have…read moreto pay for a table even if your just going for a drink.

Kept it simple, beer battered fish and chips! Have to say it was very good! Fish was not swimming…read morein fat and the chips were delicious!

Listen, If this is middle England, sign me up. I'll don the…read moreplastic Union Jack bowler hat. I'll bob up and down like a demented Plumb Dipper to the strains of Rule Britannia. Hell, I'll vote Farage. No, stop it. Two miles and a world away from the A1 you'll find the Olive Branch. It's exactly half way between London and our final destination Knaresborough. How serendipitous is that? What was intended to be an F1 style pit stop, driver swap, ploughman's gulpdown turned into something far lovelier. More quintessentially English than getting into a ruck at the Harvester salad bar because the oaf before me took all the croutons, The Olive Branch is a Quintessential England that we can all admire. Inside is all higgledy piggledy charm. The sort of place that makes the daintiest ballerina feel like a big lummox. Tentative steps, lots of crouching, trying to fit into the nooks and crannies that promise long stays when it's cold and dark out. It's lovely but if only we'd booked the garden. Beautifully kept, thoughtfully planted and adorned with private canvas gazebos for diners to shelter from the sun, enjoy great fare and gossip about Judy Murray's choice of clobber this Wimbledon. As pretty as a picture. What's that you say? One table left? Like XL bullies, we bit their hand off. Some wonderful touches out there. Beautifully woven blankets if it gets too cold. A lovely thought and a nice addition to the aesthetic. Tablecloths on some tables, bare wood on others. Not an accident. Nothing too clipped and precious. They've even made astroturf work. Sun helps in these matters and it duly obliged by turning up and pushing its rays through any gaps provided by the mature grape vine that wove its way across the pergola that forms the centrepiece. Keep yer blankets ta. The menu reads quiet confidence and elegance. Only fish and chips nodding to traditional pub fare. Poached herb crusted halibut, fennel, sorrel, Jersey Royals. A dish made for the moment and duly ordered. The halibut done to perfection, bathed in a lush green sauce inviting enough to go paddling in. One quibble. A crust should be crusty. This crust was applied before poaching which, to my mind, isn't a crust. It didn't stop the plate being cleaned like it was an extra in a Finish ad. Given its own separate menu was a tapas board groaning with dishes that, whilst not particularly challenging, were executed with love, care and skill. Padron peppers, gazpacho and chorizo might not set London pulses racing but each dish had integrity. The chorizo wasn't Spanish but was made down the road at the local farm. Succulent, soft, spiced. A dot of honey to set it off. Absolute winner. A croquette filled with local shards of ham, bound together by equally local cheese. Crispy shell, soft and sublime inside. As big as my fist which was pleasing given the quality. The 'ette' part is stretching things. There were several other dishes served on this three foot long board but I don't want to coo endlessly. Oh go on then. A tranche of seabass, skin as stiff as the board it came on, crisp and brittle, soft flesh underneath, on a bed of patatas bravas. Again, not earth shatteringly avant garde but totally wonderful to eat. Chargrilled broccoli with enough salt to melt the polar ice caps and all the better for it, with toasted almonds. There's more but I have a word count to respect. My only 'complaint' - and you won't ever read this from me again - simply too much of it for one normal human to get through. Alas, I'm not a normal human and left a solitary padron pepper and some potato remnants more out of embarrassment than anything. The tapas menus came with pudding. Three cornets of different sorbets and creams and a delightfully light pistachio tart. I did some button surgery and found space. Of course, I paid for it later but gluttony is tougher work than thin people might imagine. I haven't really done the puddings justice and I haven't even mentioned the bread that came with a delicious whipped butter with taragon and olive. I don't want to dwell on it too much as its giving me indigestion. (On a serious note, if you order the Tapas menu on your own - £38pp - it is quite literally enough for three people. I can't believe they would have added more had we ordered for two.) We sat back and bathed in sun, listened to bees guzzling lavender pollen and as we hit a shady spot time stood still as we wondered why 'dapple' sounds more pleasing than 'apple'. And there's me in my brand new bright yellow Adidas Campers. They clashed gloriously with the red hot pokers and it occurred to me that I could simply take root here or petrify into a fat gnome and stay forever. Alas, the A1 beckons. The olive Branch has a hotel attached. We left knowing that next time this will be the destination, not the pit stop. And wondering if on the journey up here we will find a half way stop off this good in Newport Pagnell.

I love this pub. It's perfect for a summer afternoon out when you have been to Rutland Water or a…read morevisit to Stamford or want to visit the village's Yew Tree walk. It has the most beautiful garden where you can enjoy a drink or eat at one of the tables amongst the flowers. It was Michelin Pub of the year in 2008 and has a stunningly refurbished barn which can be hired for family parties. We hired it out for a wedding anniversary a couple of years ago and it's a lovely private space. (check out the pics on the website.) I also love the interior decor and there is a good service. Sometimes they have wine tasting and sales at Christmas and they have a great selection to drink on the premises too. Well worth a country detour off the A1. As about the pub's history too. Just a word of advice it gets quite busy in summer.

Bit of a hidden gem , traditional back street pub , well decorated , multi room with beer garden …read more At time of visit 6 real ales on . Seating comfortable well laid out . Good service , clean . Beer well kept . Not bad for a larger brewery pub .

16/11/19 A gathering…read moretogether of school friends and partners. Eight in total. Chose to have the afternoon tea at £14.95 per head. Arrived at 4 pm, as booked. I made all of the arrangements, and this was my recommendation. I think the main comment about entering the place was: "It's a bit like a TARDIS". We were in an area where the tables could be described as rustic. Very nice and good sizes for large parties. The young woman showed us to the table. The order was taken for the teas and coffees. Someone wanted speciality tea, and lady came back to explain what was available. I didn't hear what was chosen. The reason I am giving three stars is the presentation of the food and the lack customer service. What I mean by the latter is that I had to get the waiter's attention to get something else, something done. The other main restaurant was empty, and the area we were in, had a family group that left about 15 minutes after our arrival. So, we were in the area, as group, on our own. Prior to booking, I had requested that there were sandwiches for our two vegetarians. What we got was one plate with the "doorstep" sandwiches stacked, both meat and vegetarian together. I went away to ask if another plate was to arrive, and I was told no. Nevertheless, the young woman came to explain that there had not been any cross contamination in the production of the sandwiches. Yet, there was on the plate. She brought out a separate plate with a few cheese and pickle and egg sandwiches. Those sandwiches, which were on the outmost part, one slice of the bread was dry, but I don't know how long they had been made for that to have happened. There were 8 large scones. However, there was clearly insufficient jam and clotted cream for all. One guest politely ate theirs without. I got the attention of the young chap, and he came back with some more. The scones were very tasty. The cakes were hardly touched. There was a mixture of chocolate, lemon drizzle, and what seems like a walnut cake. All lying on top of each other; almost as if they had been thrown on. I suppose that the expectation was that they would have been put on a tiered cake stand. In any case they were split into two and wrapped in foil to be taken home; only two couples wanted the cake that was left. The pot of tea I had had enough tea bags, and was a lovely breakfast tea. Those that chose coffee had a cafetiere. Overall pleasant place, but a but I was disappointed. I made no comment to the manager as I was with guests and I didn't really want to spoil the moment. I wouldn't choose this option again if I was visiting the place.

A very popular and charming pub/restaurant with an uncomplicated but imaginative menu in this…read morelovely Rutland village. At lunch there is a prix fixé menu offering 2 or 3 courses, in addition to the à la carte with a broader selection. The food was of a good standard, well served by professional, friendly and polite staff. The popularity of the place did have the drawback that it was difficult to find a parking place in the car park. I had a starter and main course from the à la carte while my wife had 3 courses from the fixed price menu. Together with 2 drinks each and coffee, the bill came to £56 - a bit pricy for lunch but we enjoyed it and would recommend it.

Great beer & food,what's not to like?? Lots of organised…read moreevents with bands & daily meal specials. The menu features warming broths, Ploughmans, homemade burgers, chilli con carne made with Grainstore beer, and rustic sandwiches. As you tuck in to your Ploughmans at your wooden barrel table Food is served Monday to Friday - 12pm to 3.00pm and 5.30pm to 9pm, Saturday - Breakfast from 9am to 11.30am, Meals served all day from Midday to 9pm, Sunday - Breakfast from 9am to 11.30am and Lunch from Midday to 5pm.

A cracking little joint that boasts its own micro brewery…read more I does the usual beers, but I would recommend trying their own brewed ales. They cater for large groups and also offer mini tours of the brewery which is always fun and getting to sample their hard work once the tour is over. It has a more than ample outdoor seating area at the front which is great, and even though this is a small little gaff, I have never waited long to be served, even when a mass crowd of bikers turn up on mass to enjoy this little local gem.

This place is fabulous!!! Great food, wonderful service!!! Great prices and accommodations too!!!…read moreHighly recommend!