Unusually for the year it was a sunny day and the roads we used to Owlsebury were not flooded. We were joined there by Doug who needed a car for a subsequent journey.The welcome was unusual with the owner on customer side of bar, and we were slightly disappointed to find only two beers - Greene King IPA 3.6% and Morland Best Bitter 4%. Both of these were well kept.
We much appreciated the cosy nature of the bar, with its log fire blazing away.There was a choice of individual pies - steak, and chicken and mushroom. They arrived in individual dishes and there was some amusement at the efforts to remove from the dishes without landing on the table or ones lap.
The pies were well filled but the steak was rather chewy and could have best had a longer stewing time.The pies were accompanied by a choice of well cooked chips or mash, and also large bowls of well cooked vegetables. Gravy was served in separate containers.
Quality of the food was indicated by the empty plates,
but this did not stop a few attacking the puddings.
Of particular interest was a suet pudding spotted dick, but a crumble was also a choice. Unusually, Doug was unable to finish his crumble - the portions so generous.Happy memories.
Scores (max. 5 in each category, 25 overall):
- Pastry 3.96
- Filling 4.16
- Beer 3.39
- Ambience 4.2
- Value 4.43
- Overall 21.12
So the Ship Inn at Owlsebury immediately leaps to first place in our rankings of pubs visited in 2014, which is hardly surprising as it was the first pub we visited in 2014. But it's a respectable score, which would have earned them an honourable 3rd place had we visited them in 2013.
