Nice local pub featuring a really fabulous restaurant. good range on menu but normally a large…read morenumber of specials available, always including a fresh fish dish, a curry and a special meat dish. Food here is very good, large protions well cooked and thought out. The deep fried camenbier is fantastic, served with a lovely cranberry sauce. It gets extremely buy epecially at weekends so bet to book. Nice country pub attmosphere very accomodating to families. Car park is small and can be quite tricky i would recommend leaving larger cars on the front round.

We turned up on spec,but they soon had us seated . The surroundings were lovely, and smart. We had…read moregreat service from a lovely lady who was knowledgeable and had good humour. Food was super- tasty and great quality Would definitely reccomend, especially for the specials nights. BB.

My favorite pub in the world…read more Excellent beers/ales, fantastic food and the location is awesome. Service is always nice.

My favorite place to stay in this area . Small and cost and the people are so friendly . Food is…read moreexceptional . Not many rooms for b&b but they are super nice .

Gorgeous traditional English pub in the countryside. Great service. Lovely pizzas (try the…read moremushroom). Ample outdoor seating. Worth the trip to explore.

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

Best kept secret in the area. This 16th century pub/restaurant is run by a lovely couple (Dave and…read moreJackie) who make you feel welcome every visit. My wife and I have been coming here for nearly three years now and the food is still the best around. Sometimes you may have to wait due to everything being cooked fresh to order but it is well worth the wait. Look out for the specials board which has some of the unusual dishes not normally seen in other restaurants.

We went to this place having had the poor meal at the Crown and Anchor, we had to leave the C&A due…read moreto mould on the toast, so this place was going to be excellent whatever, when compared to that. I am pleased to say that this place did not let us down. We have eaten here twice over the last 2 years. The food is good, you get alot of it which is fine if you are of super size. I am 6ft 2" and I will normally have a starter and a main or a main and a pudding but having had the main I struggled to fit the pudding in. I think they should reduce the portion size ever so slightly so that they get their patrons to order a pudding as well on more occasions. Makes more business sense to me! My main was a ribeye steak and chips with mushrooms and tomatoes, I had strawberry pavalova for my pudding. I overheard some other customers order the pavalova as well but unfortunately for them the pub had run out. It was really good and knowing that I had the last one made it taste even better! They have a selection of bitters on tap. The staff were attentive, young, I think perhaps the sons of the owners. They seemed to give that bit of extra attention and when they asked how things were/how was the meal etc, they did want to know rather than just asking for the sake of things. There is a massive car park at the location and also a farm shop, we went in briefly to the shop but only to get out of the thunder storm /rain that was occuring at the time so I cant review that facility. Will probably use this place more often now that the C&A let us down.

Very good food. I would book because it is popular! We had a group of 9 and there was also another…read moretable room had an even larger group which on the night caused some delays, however the staff were very friendly throughout and never appeared flustered. Meals were very large and great quality. There was a struggle for some to finish the mains, no-one had desert! All meals were twice the size and half the price you would expect for the quality. Shame I don't live nearer as its somewhere I would like to go back to again.

I have been here twice now and both times i have not been disappointed. portion sizes are LARGE and…read morethe food is good traditional english food. The sticky toffee pudding is a must have! The restaurant is small so may not be practical for big parties.

This is a beautifully updated old English pub, kept in the traditional style of its former glory…read morebut clean and well maintained. It has a comfortable atmosphere, friendly and personable staff especially the father/daughter team whom we met on our oct 28th visit. Reservations recommended for the excellent food and wine. Well worth a visit! Then take a stroll around the beautiful church and grounds behind the pub. If you are an English native or foreign traveller you will enjoy this place!

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.

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.