Reviews

July 2009

We arrived at The Cock Inn to find a lovely heated garden, buzzing with alfresco diners. Inside, we were warmly greeted with mouth-watering menus, an excellent wine list and a nod in the direction of the specials board, and we knew we were in for a treat.

The owner of The Cock Inn personally travels as far as South Africa to select his wines, to create a list that is comprehensive and sensibly priced.
The food menu too has clearly been designed with flair and consideration.
Repeat booking numbers are high here, so the specials board changes every few days to keep the menu exciting and unpredictable. Talking of unpredictable, on our visit the starters menu included rabbit rarebit, seared pigeon breast and Cornish smoked mackerel with Peruvian potato salad.

Each of our chosen dishes arrived expertly presented. My guest selected the pigeon, which he declared tender and perfectly cooked – praise indeed from an avid game lover. I chose the mackerel, which was light in texture with just the right amount of smokiness, cleverly balanced by the potato salad. For mains my guest made a beeline for the monkfish with crayfish mash, razor clam and chervil butter sauce (£14) – original accompaniments and tip-top presentation.

For mains, I was toying between the Barbary duck breast and the chargrilled 6oz fillet steak (£9.95 special), which came with an Asian salad with soy, sesame and feta. The waiter confirmed the duck was a winner, but my heart was set on the steak. It proved an excellent choice – a velvety piece of top-quality meat accompanied by an interesting salad. However, saints we are not, so a side of very morish chunky fries was devoured too. For dessert, out of curiosity, we asked for a scoop of the green tea ice cream, which comes as part of an exotic ice cream selection at £4.50. A first for me, it had an almondy taste and was simply scrumptious.

The Cock Inn offers an inspired menu created using quality ingredients, coupled with great wines and enthusiastic service. Is this pub worth a visit?
A most definite yes from me.