The village pub but, as on a previous visit, most folk were there to eat. They make a big play of the food’s local provenance, including the fact that much of the vegetables come from their own kitchen garden. Of course, it’s what they do with it that’s important.
A cheese soufflé was quite mild in flavour and sat on a salad of very finely shredded carrot and fennel, mixed with a few pine nuts. The other starter, a prawn and crayfish salad, was very much an assembly job – a generous amount of seafood with a handful of lettuce and a cocktail sauce.
For mains, a vegan mezze plate sounded good. Falafel (tasty but an odd crumbly texture), baba ghanoush (possibly a jar opened), tzatziki, mixed salad, harissa spiced potatoes (a heavy hand with the harissa), flatbread and a vegan feta cheese (nope, not even tasted – vegan “cheese” is always vile and nothing like actual cheese).
Tuna was cooked to medium rare and was excellent. A spoonful of tapenade on top worked well. It sat on a tomato tarte tatin which had soggy pastry and was oddly sweet, in spite of a topping of pesto. There was a leafy salad on the side.
We passed on desserts and coffee. Service had been friendly and efficient.
