Review of Roydon’s The Three Horseshoes: Pub has olde worlde charm, lovely staff and smashing food
When you walk into a pub at 2pm on a Saturday in January and both the bar and restaurant are full, you know they're doing something right.
An hour or so later, as my daughter Tilly and I left The Three Horseshoes in Roydon, we were happily aware that this is a place where they do everything right.
A cosy, pleasant atmosphere, warm and welcoming staff, a good selection of drinks, a menu that changes every day and a chef happy to adapt dishes for dietary requirements.
On entering the pub we were straight away stuck by the place's historic feel, with exposed roof beams adding to the olde-worlde feel.
We had to wait quite a while be attended to, but only because the place was so busy. But once seen, we were quickly shown to our table for two in the restaurant by a very smiley, friendly lady.
Unusually, the only menu on the table was a wine one, with starters, mains and desserts all written on blackboards.
Also, there was a board in the bar area and one in the restaurant, so no need to get up to choose.
The reason for the boards is that the menu changes regularly, sometimes daily, which is most impressive.
When I'd called to book the previous day, I'd asked about vegan options and was told the chef would make sure some were on the menu.
Sure enough, there was plenty of choice for me and the very knowledgeable waitress also knew which other dishes could be adapted to be vegan.
We decided to skip starters to leave room for dessert and went straight to mains. Had we opted for them, crispy whitebait, nachos, stuffed mushroom, spring rolls and a brie and ham salad were among the starters on offer, most priced around the £6 mark.
After some deliberation I went for the sweet chilli vegetable stir fry (£11) and Tilly opted for the 8oz rump steak with chips, salad, onion rings and tomatoes, leaving out the mushrooms (£20).
Other main dishes included beef, chilli or beetroot burgers, hunter’s chicken, gammon steak, fish and chips, cottage pie, scampi, lamb shank and pan-fried coley.
We had a decent wait for our food as it was clearly being prepared freshly but we had plenty to chat about and I had a pint of Estrella (£5.20) while TIlly went for an apple juice (£3.50).
Tilly said her medium-cooked steak was done to perfection and bursting with flavour, the salad was fresh and had a lovely dressing, and the chips were crispy and well-seasoned. I can vouch for the chips myself, having stolen a couple - they were amazing.
My stir fry was also gorgeous, presented on a bed of noodles and accompanied by a large piece of pak choi. It was a real taste sensation.
Having finished my drink during my meal I opted for a second pint, this time Peroni (£5.60), and that was a fatal mistake, meaning I joined my daughter in being too full for a dessert. Very upsetting!
The choice of panna cotta, cheesecake, chocolate brownie, cobbler and steam pudding, all priced at £5.25, is one of many reasons why we will be returning to this lovely little spot.
The Three Horse Shoes is ideal for couples, friends or families and all were in abundance on Saturday. It’s a smashing place and it thoroughly deserves all the success in the world.
Food: Freshly prepared and very tasty. ****
Drink: A well-stocked bar and a wine menu. ****
Staff: Pleasant, helpful and knowledgeable. *****
Price: Good value at £45.30 for two big meals, two pints and an apple juice. ****
Decor: Homely and comfortable. ****