A Dinner in Castle Combe, the Prettiest Village in England:
Our dinner at the Castle Inn tonight was part of a tour to Castle Combe to see the “prettiest village in England”.
Before dinner, we had time to wonder around the village which looks like it’s been frozen in time. Except for a few cars parked in the streets, there were no traces of modern intervention in Castle Combe – no WiFi hotspot signs, TV aerials or ugly power cables. In fact, I don’t even remember seeing any street lights here. Yes, Castle Combe is indeed a beautiful village.
At the Castle Inn, the section of the garden room that had been reserved for the group was small, tight-fitting and a bit stuffy so we chose to sit in the terraced patio. The barman was very obliging and didn’t have any problem serving us dinner outdoors where we could still enjoy views of this charming village.
Our starter was a vegetable soup, which was tasty. For the main we were served a large plate of fish and chips. Disappointingly, the fish was tasteless and covered in a large quantity of batter. The meat eaters in the group had beef and those we spoke to said that the beef was tough and inedible. I think the best course of the meal was the desert, a piping hot apple crumble. The serving was quite large and one bowl was enough for two people.
After dinner we went to the main restaurant to have our espresso and again was looked after by the nice barman, so he had a nice tip. I’m not sure where all the people came from, but the restaurant was full.
It’s a shame that the food at the Castle Inn wasn’t as delightful as the village in which it is located. The U.K. is famous for its pub food and it really shouldn’t be too hard for these guys to up the quality of their meals.
Situated at the top of Castle Combe village, the Castle Inn hotel has eleven ensuite bedrooms for anyone planning to spend time in this beautiful village. If you want something more upmarket, just next door is the much plusher Manor House Hotel and Golf Club.
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