We ventured into ‘gastropub’ territory on the weekend, after two completely unrelated people recommended the Plough & Flail in Mobberley.  The occasion was an ‘early tea’ (6.30) with a friend for a catch-up and a chinwag.

I’ve never been before and first impressions from the decor and general ‘buzz’ were good.  We didn’t get to see much of it as we were seated near the bar, which is near the entrance.  But it all seemed cosy enough.

As  usual, the veggie options were well outnumbered by the meat/fish – from memory, only two veggie choices, and all the main course ‘specials’ on the board were fish.  H and our friend J plumped for the spinach and feta cheese cannelloni, and I went for the roast chicken with all the trimmings.   This was after we waited for what felt like too long for our order to be taken, whilst trying to talk over the surprisingly loud and intrusive background music (Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder etc at top volume – not really what you want for a friendly chat over dinner!).

The cannelloni looked nice but wasn’t anything special given it was £10.95, although it did come with a bowl of salad on the side.  The roast chicken arrived to gasps of ‘it’s huge’!  It was surrounded by a massive yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes and veg, covered in loads of gravy.  It looked great, but again, a little underwhelming and I found the chicken quite dry.  I think this might be a personal taste thing, but I like chicken to be a bit moist and juicy, whereas this was erring towards the overcooked and chewy.  (At one point I found myself thinking about how much nicer H’s sister’s roast chicken is!)  The veg were nice enough but boring – cabbage and mushy carrot – with the roast potatoes being the best of the dish. Disappointing for £11.95.

The desserts were much better.  H, not being a dessert person (weirdo) had a second pint of Guinness.  We girls, being made of stronger stuff, went for it despite J’s insistence that she shouldn’t.  (What?!).  I had rhubarb and ginger crumble and custard, which was great, big chunks of rhubarb with the sharpness of the ginger cutting through it.  My only gripe was that the custard was the thin, runny kind.  I like mine a bit more gloopy!  J had a (slightly warmed) lemon drizzle cake with chantilly cream on the side which went down well.

Despite the two recommendations I had, I don’t think we’d rush back.  The main courses were overpriced for what they were.  Average cannelloni for £10.95 , disappointing roast chicken for £11.95, and a bottle of water for £3.50 (!) with only the desserts being worth the money (£4.95).  Sadly overpriced and overrated.

Leave a Reply