Broom Tavern

Spectacular. Very friendly service. Exceptional food, including dry aged steaks and gorgeous deconstructed desserts. Completely unexpected, and quite extraordinary.

Smashing food, great selection of beers, staff always really helpful. We have enjoyed many Friday evenings sharing the Camembert starter and the ambience. Lovely cosy atmosphere

Well this really was a turn up for the the books, last time I was down this place was shut and threatened with conversion into flats– it would have been a real shame as I believe there has been a pub there for a couple of hundred years! It always used to be the best pub in the Bidford, Broom and Wixford axis and it looks to be back with a bang.
The new owners have really spruced up the place, but they have retained the rustic style too. They seem to be heading in the gastro pub direction but I would still feel comfortable going in for a couple of pints which can’t be said about a lot of similar venues. They had some really good ales on– I stuck with the purity mad goose as you can’t get them up in the grim north, it’s good to see them embracing the local upstarts!
The food was fantastic– I started with Crab Nachos which were incredible, really fresh and a large portion. They were also available as a main but I think they would have been too much of a good thing. These were followed with the Frito Misto; whitebait, prawns, squid and white fish (Couldn’t tell what type but i’m no expert!), in a light crispy batter with new potatoes, samphire, special tartar sauce and crispy noodles. The fish was well cooked, the sauce excellent and I cleared my plate but the noodles seemed a bit out of place and didn’t add anything other than bulking out the plate a bit.
The other highlights from our group were the pint of prawns– literally a pint glass brimming with steamed prawns, traditional cocktail sauce and bread a butter, the goat’s cheese tart and the sea bass served with loads of lovely fishy bits like clams and mussels. Everything was really well presented on your plate. Everyone raved about the triple cooked chips– a concept Rhod Gilbert sums up perfectly for me; «Why didn’t they get a chef who could nail them first time around?!» But despite my scepticism they were really good!
The only thing that a I could grumble about would be the lady who took our order was a little bit brisk and some customers could see this as rude but the rest of the staff were really friendly and I am only really searching for a criticism! Even the bill was reasonable; just over a ton for four with a bottle of wine and several pints of ale.
I really hope these guys succeed, they have hopefully turned around a lovely local pub with a boat load of history. The food and drink is outstanding and fairly priced. The Broom Tavern is just what the area needs as most of the local pubs have struggled in recent times. If they keep the standards up hopefully they can expand and spread their excellence in an area crying out for it!