Loading...
The Plough
72 Walton RoadWavendon, Milton Keynes, MK17 8LW
Reviews for The Plough
0 found this helpful
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!
0 found this helpful
Had a dinner for four. A lovely country house from outside. Unexpectedly, a high-ceiling, pretty faceless interior plucked from a Habitat catalogue page inside. Immaculate surfaces, but lacking character. The atmosphere was a bit sterile. Plenty of free tables (Friday).
The service was meticulous but a bit too formal assuming that no one was there for a black-tie dinner. And, they mixed up the rare/ medium rare service. And, although the table surface was spotless, there was no tablecloth. My French friends would have a few words about that.
The food was to a high standard and duly refined, if not very memorable: subtle it was but that exciting pinch of taste was missing. Interval entrees were a lovely surprise, and of excellent quality. The amount of food, however, was to fit a Mediterranean summer, not the wet English winter. When the advertised specialty 'Lamb Rack' turned out to be two lamb chops, I felt a little disappointed, even though the meat itself was intricately prepared. If not for the bread, I would have left not feeling full - sorry!
The choice of wine was excellent, but mostly for the over 50 pound range. I thought we were in Wavendon, not Chelsea. Bottles in the 35-50 pound range ran out, quite suspiciously.
The cost was 300 pounds for four including two bottles of a good wine (80 pounds). Elsewhere, for a similar price, I had some very, very memorable food, in gorgeous surroundings, with a marvellous view. I cannot complaint about the chef in this restaurant but they are going to price themselves out of the market.
0 found this helpful
a wednesday evening found us looking forward to this relatively new gastropub in Milotn Keynes.
There was only another table of 4 dining in on this occasion, which in this well lit restaurant made any ambience almost non-existant.
The waiting staff were over attentive, but sadly not very knowledgable on the food being served.
For the price I was dissapointed with the quality of food.
If dining in the area of Milton keynes... The Crooked Billet is better.
2 found this helpful
Would we go back?
“Hello, what is the Plough now?”
“We’re a restaurant with bar facilities – you can have a drink ‘if’ you want.”
“Thank you, I’ll have a beer and may I see your menu for future reference?”
“Certainly, we’re not officially open yet – this is our introductory menu while we get going.”
That was summer 2007.
A few weeks later, still pre The Plough’s ‘official opening,’ we booked a table for dinner.
Undoubtedly, the investment in exterior landscaping is spectacularly well done; it sensitively complements the area in the style of an elegant country home. Yet, that’s the problem with the Plough. The dining room, you wouldn’t say restaurant, is a dining room. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder for sure and if circa 1982 golden magnolia, and nice John Lewis chandeliers are your thing you’ll feel at home.
It’s not that the decoration was in any way offensive, although sitting there one envisaged the designer as a thoroughly respectable middle England homemaker on their first project. Even though the passé Laura Ashley catalogue fully covered chairs with big sensible bows at the back were comfortable enough, the tables were quite surprisingly dull and in urgent need of repatriation to their hotel function suite home. High ceilings and hard floors meant you could hear every echo of a pin drop and the constant banging of the kitchen door became more than a little annoying. Overall, this poor room simply lacked libido.
Being officially unopened, we received the short menu complete with welcome message from the Head Chef explaining why £22 for a fillet steak was cheap because they were training staff. There was also an introductory spiel from someone, probably the owner though he didn’t say that essentially boiled down to, “You’re very lucky to be here enjoying our food at these low introductory prices.”
A suitably worded reply would have been, “And you’re extremely lucky to have my patronage and as this place is within walking distance from my home, do a good job we’ll be back and tell our friends!”
Other than the sommelier, who was blessed with a decent personality, the only way to describe the staff would be timid. There was nothing wrong with the service; it was just all a bit sterile.
Even bearing in mind our visit was during their start up, although they didn’t charge start up prices, the food was unmemorable. Nothing to complain about – the kind of decent grub you’d get at any five star airport hotel restaurant somewhere in the world. Everything was well cooked and sensibly presented on, not surprisingly, the kind of decent quality white crockery you’d buy an important relative as a wedding present.
Overall, the experience certainly wasn’t bad. However, with equal certainty it wasn’t memorable. The most reasonable description would be ‘soulless.’ We haven’t been back and since numerous restaurant-going friends relayed similar experiences.
It’s almost a year on, their menu certainly looks interesting and we hear about aspirations to win a Michelin star – well good luck to them but if they’re in the market for some advice, we’d say, take a look at what and who is around you. There are thousands of potential customers on the doorstep, yet no one’s talking about ‘The Plough.’ In almost a year since our visit, not one person has said those magic words: “You’ve really got to go for dinner at The Plough.”
3 found this helpful
As soon as you pull into the car-park you will be wowed! The recent renovations have transformed the Plough from an old village pub into a chic and stylish restaurant serving amazing food using five star service. With a member of waiting staff per 4-6 diners you will be exceptionally well looked after. We were given pre-starters of carrot soup and a sorbet course of the most delicious lemon sorbet I have ever eaten. The tuna starter was exceptional, risotto main course was delicious and the malva pudding for dessert was out of this world!! Book early, I have a feeling this restaurant will be booking up once more people get to know ......
More Bars and Pubs:
Bars & Pubs in Milton Keynes
- Milton Keynes Pubs
- Milton Keynes Bars
