Harvest Moon — Restaurant in England

When you find a place like this on your travels you kind of wonder if you are dreaming. This is not pub grub - though classics are there for you to enjoy should you wish. The kitchen is churning out food that is considered, creative and made with true flair and passion. At prices which would make 'Spoons quake in their boots. Seriously.

I had the ribs - fall-apart tender with a complex, deep flavour that was none of your usual two-note sweet/tang. And they cost the same as a pint at a Marstons pub. But more than this, the ' salad' it came with was not just a leaf and a slice on a plate, but a delicate little mix of radish and beetroot and micro herbs in a lovely dressing. There where even balsamic pearls! What kind of village pub kitchen is playing around with liquid spherification and not charging 40 quid for the privilege!?

Similarly, the sticky toffee pudding was in itself delicious, but all the more notable for its careful garnish of strawberry, honeycomb, wafer and chocolate spaghetti.

When combined with warm, friendly service, it's just an incredible find. Its setting - a new build with a slightly sparse bar (though warmer looking restaurant area and nice patio) belies what is hiding here - an utter gem. But even the presence of an oversized TV and run of England flags (which must be a tad galling for them since they're Italian) just shows how much they're striving to be there for their local community.

Wish I wasn't just passing through - mussels with chorizo, truffle pasta, all kinds of creative dishes would be a lot of fun to make my way through. Also, a perfectly good pint of Staropramen and hopefully, at some point the Hophouse will be back on too.

Wherever you are, make a detour to make sure...

Not a pleasant experience - 1 star only given because there was no 0 star option.

I’ve seen quicker service in similar sized places with less staff.

Starter described by partner as looking like a bowl of sick - helped by taste of the fish too. As a guess I would say microwave meal. Left a lot to be desired - in terms of generally everything.

Main course (roast dinner) meat over cooked and luke warm at best, veg cooked to within an inch of its life, Yorkshire pudding stone cold, potatoes not far of becoming mash given how well cooked they were.

I am not someone that ever sends anything back, but given that it was actually making me heave with every mouthful had to be sent back. When trying to explain to the gentleman, he seemed so eager to brush on past any issues rather than using his listening skills he kept talking over me and generally would not listen. In the end it was only when I began to get visibly agitated that he stopped talking and allowed me to speak. He then finished the interaction by accusing me of being rude after he would not allow me to speak because he kept talking over me and end up making me feel like he was accusing me of all of the issues.

When my partner went to pay the girl behind the bar began to have a go at him for us sending back the food.

Would suggest avoiding this...

All I can say is the young staff serving were lovely and attentive. The manager made us feel uncomfortable and no staff wore any masks. The venue was awful and the 2 high chairs we were provided with were not fit for purpose, as ripped and very unclean and looked like would collapse if any child were ever to sit in. We kept the child in his pushchair. I can honestly say this was the worst Sunday roast ever! The roast beef was ok, vegetables ok but obviously plain frozen veg, the roast potatoes looked like they were sauteed and with no colour, but the worst were the Yorkshire puddings which were flat and thick and barely cooked in the middle. (I still can't work out how they could get like that) When we pointed out the issue they provided us with replacements but they were no better. The manager laughed when we said they were awful and said its because the chef is Italian! We were offered a free drink but had hardly two sips out of the pints of coke. We didn't want to make a fuss and just wanted to get out of there but the manager came and said that he would take a meal off the bill. We got out of there fast and will never return. My advice is don't bother, it's a lovely village but this place...