Stow-on-the-Wold is a beautiful village, even when it is pouring with rain. Traditional stone buildings, a town square, all of the trimmings of a typical English village, down to a Roly’s Fudge, Cotswold Company and the original Scotts of Stow. It had the makings of a magical couple of days.
We were very excited about trying the Old Butchers which, despite its name, seemed to be more of a fish restaurant, albeit with a large slice of beef on the side, presumably for the local Young Farmers. And what a welcoming little place it is, with a heated enclosed outdoor terrace (even we, as hardy folk, turned that down), and a cosy and lively interior. The restaurant comes out high in the rankings of local eateries, and not, it seems, boosted by one contributor fake reviews extolling the great service they got from Rich (unlike the Porch House which we boycotted on that basis alone).
I’m getting tired of slagging restaurants off, and felt chastened by the latest Gordon Ramsay documentary where he complains about the caustic pens of food reviewers who he has been known to kick out of his restaurants, so I felt this was going to be an easy, short exposition of fine, locally sourced, fresh cuisine.
Initial impressions were good – Even the WiFi password was on the menu (otherwise the Gen Z crowd can’t communicate with each other, in the land of the missing mobile masts)
The olives were excellent, as was the bread. Not enough people do the balsamic under olive oil and more, but I love the tartness of the vinegar combined with the peppery taste of the oil. And as you can see from the picture, the Negroni went down a treat. Not the best ever, but very passable.
We were stunned by the starters. No, not a serving accident, we were genuinely delighted with how good they were. The Frito Misto was amazing, some of the lightest batter I have ever had. I would have preferred a little more of it for 19 quid, and some lemon, but the quality was amazing. Similarly the scallops went perfectly with the ‘Nduja butter, and the bread was very welcome to mop it all up. Not at all cheap (London plus prices), but amazing.
This was shaping up to be an epic meal, maybe one of the few when I walked out feeling it was worth travelling back to Stow just to eat here again (Only Journeys in Eastbourne holds that accolade currently, and I promise I will review it before the year is out…).
Breath was bated.
I ordered a Skate wing, but as you can see, it was more like a few feathers. I mean, that is a seriously measly portion, and it was dry, like astringently dry, so much so, I had to ask the kitchen to send me out some sauce (which they did, but I don’t know why the skate didn’t have it on in the first place). Overcooked, underportioned and just a mess.
But that was the high point. Mrs Nigel went for the lobster, a rare splurge for her, but it looked very inviting, and compared to the rest of the not-inexpensive menu, not gougingly expensive. And I have to say that between us, we know lobster. We have sat in Maine, gorging ourselves on the stuff, and I have had it straight off the boat and into a pot of water (before we discovered lobsters have feelings).
This would have been better served as balls, because at least we could have entertained ourselves bouncing it against the wall. It was tough, rubbery, tasteless. Really an insult to the poor (hopefully pre-stunned) lobster. Not sure if it was frozen or just poorly prepared, but it was not worth the money, or in fact any money.
You may wonder why we stayed for cheese.
It was just something to do 😔 Nightlife is not a thing in Stow (although we did go to the Sheep later to get insulted by the barman, so there is that)
You can see from my close-up that I was not exactly thrilled by the quality of the Stilton.
The wine by the glass (Viognier and Nero D’Avola) was actually not bad, and was a pretty reasonable price, but overall the food was just not good value for the quality: Starters were great, but toppy price-wise. The mains were a disaster, and now explains why I thought everyone in the place was a Young Farmer…
I actually enjoyed my simple supper at The Bell significantly more and for far less money, although had the main courses and cheese lived up to the starters, I might have reserved a table for 2 every week for the rest of my life.
Conclusion
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
- Food: 3/5
- Drinks: 4.5/5
- Value for Money: 3/5
- Service: 4.5/5
- Price: ££££
- Would we go back: Possibly at knifepoint
The Old Butchers: https://www.theoldbutchers.com/
