The Dove at Evington Pub & Kitchen — Restaurant in England

I was so excited when I saw the Chef’s Specials (on Instagram) at The Dove as the N’duja Pasta looked incredible! I was heading over to Oadby anyway and thought what a great excuse to go for lunch and try the special.

When I arrived, the girl that looked after me was so kind and welcoming. She was very attentive and gave me ample amount of time to browse the menu before ordering. She was able to tell me some of their mocktails they have on offer, despite not having a drinks menu, and I ordered a Peach on the Beach which was incredible! I didn’t really need to browse the menu as there was only one reason I was there…the pasta.

I was so excited and was already having a lovely experience. She brought out my food and I dug in. Now I understand that N’duja has a kick to it but I wasn’t expecting the dish to be as hot (in spice) as it was. The heat kicked in very quickly so I ate the sundried tomatoes which gave a lovely sweetness to the dish. I then tried the chicken to take away from the heat of the sauce, but the chicken had definitely been left on the grill too long (for my liking). I love grilled chicken, but chargrilled is not for me (and it wasn’t stated as this either). The garlic bread wasn’t great either. Overall, I was really disappointed with the meal.

To better my experience, I decided to have a dessert as the menu looked fab! I opted for the Lemon Meringue Cheesecake. Two other customers also ordered this so I had high hopes. It looked delicious but as I made my way through, it became too tangy. I love cheesecakes and have only ever had sweet tasting ones. Unfortunately, the cream cheese mixture wasn’t to my taste.

After feeling really disappointed, I was quite quick to leave and the waitress sorted me out very promptly. As she was the only waitress manning four busy tables, I didn’t want to hold her up and waste time feeding back about the poor quality of the main dish. I simply paid and left.

Altogether, the bill came to £31.65 for a main, a dessert, a mocktail, and a half glass of Diet Coke. Personally, I feel that this was quite pricey for what I received, and in comparison to other establishments that I have visited where I have received far better meals for the same price.

I really enjoyed my last two experiences at The Dove so feel really disappointed. I don’t feel that I’ll be in a rush to come back unfortunately.

The three stars are purely for the service and in hindsight, I wish I would have tipped the waitress for her...

First time here, a group of us having a meal celebrating a family birthday. It's quite a nice place, with decent friendly staff, but the food is a bit of a mixed bag... I had the Philly cheese steak burger, which if your familiar with Philly cheese steak you will know it's an American invention of finely sliced steak cooked on a griddle and served in a roll with a generous smothering of melted cheese or cheese sauce... This wasn't that, this was a good thick slice of steak, not sure of the cut, (maybe slow cooked then seared on the griddle?) Served in a toasted, slightly burnt brioche bun with tomato, lettuce and very little cheese, this is nothing like what the name suggests so the name should really be changed because this deserves to be called something more appropriate, the steak itself was surprisingly tender and quite tasty, the char-grilling is evident but a bit too burnt, char grilled meat is fantastic if done properly, but when you over do it the result can be a bitter burnt after taste which I had here, I still enjoyed this "steak sandwich" but it needed two things... Bit less of the over char, and really needs to be partnered with a good steak sauce. The Philly cheese steak was served with coleslaw (nice but the portion was too small) and skin on fries which were nice and just like the frozen McCain fries of the same name, my overall verdict is nice, but if you're going to charge £10.95 for this then you need to give it a bit of tlc... Don't burn it and partner it with an appropriate sauce, even if served in a pot on the side.

My wife had the beef lasagna, which looked good, tasted good and was good, one of my daughter's had the mixed grill, which came missing a couple of items, the pork steak had deep char grill marks which tasted burnt and bitter (left too long on the grill, you need to turn meat frequently when char grilling over a high heat) the mixed grill looked good and my daughter said it was mostly good,

A mate had the chicken and pawn thai curry, which he said was nice, but a bit tight on the portion control, They do two types of chips... Skin on fries (frozen) which are fine, and "gourmet" chips... Which are just fat chips, nothing special about those and not that good either. I like the menu at the Dove, it's a nice mix, but at the prices being charged they really do need to up their game a bit, more care with the char grilling, and swap out those average frozen chips for hand cut...

I always say to help out on small businesses and local restaurants. We have Been here a few times and was happy with the food and service until our last reservation on 5th of February. -The host was grumpy and didn’t even speak to us to say hello. although only two tables, we had to beckon her to take our orders. we ordered drinks before our meal, only to receive them half way through eating. although one dish had a big portion of mussels which were half empty , you couldn’t even get to the sauce !! The sea bass, lamb shank and chicken, were bland and very greasy. So we didn’t enjoy them so all of our plates went back half full. we weren’t even asked if the food was okay or why 5 plates are all going back half full? we ordered more drinks and still had to wait an hour for them to come from the bar as they were very busy due to live band. I even went to the host desk hoping the host would come back. But to my surprise two gentlemen came and thought I WAS the host and asked ME for a table!! ( that’s how long I was standing there) If the management had been more organised knowing it would be a busy night, then they should have hired more staff for the restaurant and bar!! We even asked to speak to the manager, only to be told they were too busy to come.

The only good outcome of our evening was Amelia who was rushing about trying to cover tables and seeing to everyone ( as it got busier in the restaurant) and the other girl (host) was disappearing into the kitchen. Going in and Coming out empty handed.

Really disappointed as it is a lovely place with what the new...