Food forum WVM
The Crown
at Woolhope
It was a quintessentially English summer’s evening when we tootled out to the Crown at Woolhope for our evening meal. With not a cloud on the horizon we entered the incredibly friendly atmosphere of the bar area and were welcomed by mine host, Matt Slocombe who was very quick to make us feel welcome.
Matt explained that he has been landlord for approximately two years now and has spent a lot of that time upgrading the bar and dining areas, giving all the public rooms a coat of paint and total de clutter. We totally approved of the décor as it reflects the fact that it has been retained as a good village pub and not purely as a restaurant which seems to be the case across the country. As evidence of this, there were a generous number of local people propping up the bar. Indeed, as we collected our menus, clutching our drinks, on the way to the garden tables we left behind a gathering of locals enjoying a huge round of laughter and joke telling. The gardens have been rigorously cleaned up and are now full of
blousy roses and herbaceous planting, a joy to sit amongst whilst reading the menu. The front of the pub has also been redecorated and shines out now as an example of a well tended hostelry. Hopefully I have set the scene for you, the reader, as this is a very local village pub and the rural surroundings are idyllic. Back to the menu – Matt was previously closely associated with The Scrumpy House at Much Marcle and many of the dishes on the menu are licensed to The Crown such as twice baked Hereford hop soufflé with a cream and mushroom sauce, also the ciders on the drinks menu are reminiscent of a bygone era.
We chose trout paté followed by a double cheeseburger, and toasted halloumi with roasted vegetables followed by a summer vegetable risotto. Neither of us are pudding people so unfortunately we did not experience the excellent selection of puddings. We had plenty of time to enjoy the weather, views and surroundings until we were called to our table.
My toasted halloumi with roasted vegetables was the perfect dish to start a summer evening meal and was very tasty and quite delicious. I followed with the sweet taste of a summer vegetable risotto which was perfect after the cheese. The trout paté was packed with flavour and thoroughly enjoyable. All quaffed with a glass of the house white.
Inside the pub, we were placed in the dining area which again is part of the busy bar area and we felt as though we were a part of the village banter. Our waitress was incredibly friendly and knew the menu well, which always helps when you are trying to decide which delicacy to enjoy.
The pub is host to many of the village activities such as darts team dinners, billiards team parties and also members of the tennis club just down the road call in for meetings and a welcome drink after their exertions. The Crown is without exception the centre of the village community.
AUGUST 2009 WYEVALLEYMEDIA.CO.UK
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