Cow and Plough, Oadby



Cow & Plough

I was meeting my Tea Circle friends (TCFs), who 16 years ago I’d met through ante-natal classes.  The venue was the Cow and Plough at Stoughton Park, very appropriate as in our yummy mummy days we were all season ticket holders to what was then a lovely farm park.



Lovely lighting for the middle-aged complexion

What used to be the farm park café where we’d drank  coffee and kept our toddlers happy with cheesey wotsits has now been transformed from a barn like building into a lovely restaurant, with lots of wood panelling, antique furniture and beams wrapped round with fairly lights. Tables were candle-lit and we sat at nicely upholstered dining chairs.  It was nowhere near full on a Thursday night, but the atmosphere was good and on a gloomy September evening we appreciated the fact the heating was on, music was playing in the background AND the lighting was just right: dim without being gloomy which suits the middle-aged complexion perfectly. It did not suit the menu-reading though.  The reading glasses came out and the one TCF who had resisted them experienced a eureka moment as she borrowed a pair. 

It was pie night and after a glance at the main menu, which did look lovely, we decided pies it had to be.  What a decision: fish pie; beef and ale, chicken and mushroom, cottage and a veggie option.  And to have chips or mash?  Thursday Pie Night also meant we were getting a bargain two pies for £16.00.    On arrival we’d been asked what drinks we'd like and I had the usual old faithful’s, a big glass of cool Sauvignon Blanc followed by a Merlot to go with the beef and ale pie I’d decided on.

The pie was delicious and just the comfort food I never get around to making at home, with chunks of tender beef in a rich gravy encased in lots of crusty but light pastry with a cloud of mash and a few carrots, leeks and gravy.   

We reminisced some more about the old days, wondered if there was any way we’d be able to get the kids there to celebrate their 16^th birthdays and decided that although the spirit was willing the stomach was too full to cope with puddings.  Next time, next time…

http://www.steamin-billy.co.uk/cowplough/
The good: Catching up with the Tea Circle, the pies and the service.
The not so good: Knowing that reading glasses are now an essential item.
Go again: Definitely.  I want to try the non-pie menu.