Dinner At The Recently Reopened Plough At Brackenfield
Published On Sunday 13 Nov 2022 by Sticky Beak
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It’s been a long while since The Man and I last visited The Plough Inn at Brackenfield; in fact, we haven’t been since our friend Steve Brough and his family owned it! We didn’t go when the previous owners took over because, if I’m being brutally honest, we didn’t fancy paying £20 for Fish ‘n’ Chips; I don’t think anyone in their right mind would. Anyhow, it’s now been taken over again and a catch up with friends seemed the perfect opportunity to go and check it out.
I’m pleased to say that the inherent character and charm of this old building hasn’t been messed about with, just modern touches added: like heating in the restaurant, new tables and seating. The multiple levels of the restaurant are still there, along with the low beams that lanky’s have to be super-vigilant to avoid – this is one occasion where being a shortie (like me) comes in handy! All the agricultural paraphernalia is still displayed around the venue.
We arrived at The Plough ahead of our friends, so the young lady got us some drinks sorted and then we headed down to our table to await their arrival. Once they’d got their pre-dinner drinks sorted, we turned our attention to the serious business of selecting bottles of wine and our starters. Our first choice of Red Wine wasn’t available, so we got a rather juicy Rioja instead and also a Pinot Grigio and White Rioja.
Food-wise, The Man fancied the Black Pudding and Chorizo Scotch Egg to get the gastro party started, but they hadn’t got any left, so he switched to his tried-and-trusted Salt and Pepper Squid; I chose BBQ Hog Belly (that made one of our friends laugh as their surname is Hogg!), and our friends had Chicken Satay Skewers and Prawn Pil Pil. All the starters came from the Small Plates section of the menu, and all are priced at £6.
There were several other tables already eating and the food on their tables looked superb, so we were excited to see what our morsels would be like. We didn’t have long to wait, and the team worked well together to ensure that all four of us got our meals within quick succession of each other.
My Pork Belly was gorgeously flavoursome, with contrast between the soft, creamy fat and the firmer, richer meat; the sticky, smoky BBQ sauce was plentiful and really pinged in my mouth. One of our friends regularly has Prawn/Gambas Pil Pil in Spain and commented on just how amazing these ones were, so top marks to Chef. I have to say, the fat, juicy Prawns did look very inviting...good job I was at the other end of the table, or one may have gone missing!
Equally tasty were the plentiful Chicken Satay Skewers that the gorgeous Emily from ‘Just Cheese’ had chosen to start with and, of course, His Nibs was delighted with his perfectly seasoned, light batter-coated Salt and Pepper Squid. After much oohing and aahing as we munched our ways through the generous portions, a quartet of clean plates were taken back to the kitchen by our lovely servers, who’d checked back to see that we had been pleased with our small plates.
The Plough Inn at Brackenfield has a pretty extensive menu, all things considered. As well as the small plates (from which you can create a veritable smorgasbord of yumminess), there are sharing Grazing boards, Pizzas, Sandwiches, Traditional faves and Latter-day classics, Burgers, Grills (including a Chateaubriand for £50!) and a ‘From The Garden’ section that included the Thai Noodle Salad with Rice Noodles, Crunchy Vegetables, Edamame Beans, and Ginger and Peanut Dressing (£11) that Emily went for. I had Lamb Kofte Gyros (£16), His Nibs had the Double McPlough (£15) which comprised a pair of 6oz beef patties – he was going to have his work cut out, I reckoned! – and Mr Tansley Market (Shaun) plumped for the XL Fish ‘n’ Chips (£16), throwing Chef a curve-ball by asking if he could have some ‘Chippy style’ Curry sauce made to go with his meal.
Mrs Just Cheese was mightily happy with her Thai Noodle Salad, although she had been expecting it to be a cold dish; so had I, to be fair! As it was, the deep bed of warm noodles provided a very satisfying base on which the beautiful selection of colourful vegetables and Edamame beans nestled before Emily scooped them up to eat. The Peanut and Ginger dressing had a pleasing crunch to it and a warmth that lingered nicely in the mouth.
Good job His Nibs has got a mouth like the Mersey tunnel, the Double Mc Plough is a proper meaty beast! The beef patties were moreishly juicy with a deep, satisfying flavour, and when something’s this good you only really need the classic garnishes of American cheese, Smoked Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, and Red Onion, don’t you? Skinny Fries come with the McPlough and these were beautifully crisp and well seasoned and even better, in His Nibs’ opinion, when dunked into the BBQ sauce that one of our servers brought over.
Shaun certainly got the XL Fish; it would’ve been more accurate to call it a whale – it barely fitted on the plate and the over-hang was in danger of breaking off! Underneath a crisp, crunchy coating of light batter was a firm, piping hot fillet of sweet Haddock, its pearly white flesh melting on the tongue. Tangy homemade Tartare sauce lifted the batter’s richness on the palate and, had it been my meal, the chunky chips would’ve had a dunk in it, too. As it was, Shaun was occupying himself bathing the chips in the marvellously authentic ‘chippy style’ curry sauce; though he did pass it round for us all to sample, bless him. The Mushy Peas were gorgeously soft, with that texture that clings to the inside of the cheeks, and this was a fabulous example of a classic dish done well.
I’d gone for the Lamb Kofte Gyros and the rugby ball-shaped Kofte were boldly seasoned; I took my first bite and, whilst I loved the meat, I knew that I was in for a long night as they had a distinct ‘repeat factor’ to them. Turns out I was right, but I don’t regret having them! The Lamb Kofte were perfect in texture: dense enough to not fall apart in pieces when cut into, but not overly dense like house-bricks. The fresh, mixed salad contrasted nicely against the warmth of the Kofte, adding a pleasant crunch along the way as well as some colour on the plate. Tzatziki provided an indulgent creaminess to this dish and satisfying flatbreads made a snug bed in which to wrap everything. My sea salt fries were fresh-out-of-the-fryer hot and they certainly had a good scattering of salt on them; exactly as said on the menu.
Whilst we’d been chomping and chatting away, our glasses were getting empty so one of the team came and asked if we’d like top-ups, taking the chance to check we were ok with our meals at the same time. We ordered another bottle of red to keep us going – we were having too much fun to go home yet! None of us really had any room for dessert, but you all know what it’s like; you have to ‘have a look’, don’t you?
Given the extensive choice that the menu offers, I was surprised to see only four choices for pudding...and none of them were hot which, given the time of year (autumn) was a bit odd, I thought. It wasn’t just me being a Debbie Downer, nobody’s world got set alight by the sweet choices, so none got ordered – not that it really mattered, as I said, our bellies were all pretty full up and had enjoyed what we’d had.
Fledge played Taxi for us all, bless her, diplomatically listening to the ramblings of four sozzled passengers! We were happy though; it’d been a long time in the planning, this evening, and I’m happy that I can award Hot Wings to the new team at The Plough Inn at Brackenfield. Apparently, they do a good Sunday Lunch, so I predict a return visit there in my not-too-distant-future!! To book a table give them a buzz on 01629 312589
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