Plough & Harrow

It doesn’t have the atmosphere that I remember so fondly in the 6 years I worked there in the late 80s and early 90s (whose idea was it to remove the old bar?) but I still enjoy going now and again. The food is nice, the beer is good (some lovely real ale) and it’s a nice place to bring a group of family or friends.

While the typical ads aren’t quite as bad as the ‘two different things for your mouth for £1.49′ that you see plastered in the windows of some boozers, it’s still a place pitched at attracting you by copy which tries to wring stardust from a medium Pepsi.
But, of course, such is many pubs’ lot these days. Slap bang at the end of town with no passing trade generated by commercial neighbours — it’s just bordered by residential streets — it has to play the hand it’s dealt. Food is the hook, with various two-​fors or similar offers being the extra incentive.
That said, it does a big trade in wet sales; clearly a haven for regulars and a rendezvous point for the after-​work or after-​football crowd. In fact, the convergence of diners and drinkers, especially on its popular quiz night, makes things positively heaving — and that’s not easy in a gigantic venue such as this.
And the dimensions seem to continue expending once you push past the various TV screens and quiz and cash machines. The garden is huge and, with the menu bidding at getting you through the door, it’s an extra string to its bow: it has created an adventure playground for kids and getting them fed at the same time. While a bouncy castle is not an unusual sight, this remains a proper pub. It doesn’t have loads of character, but a Wacky Warehouse this is not.

There are not many pubs that put me in the mind of the sociologist William H Whyte, but to paraphrase him the Plough and Harrow ‘is a big place that is intimate in the workings of its small pieces’.
Being both large and small at the same time, this suburban pub has something for everyone. The interior is perfect for everything you want in a pub — a large family meal, a quiet drink for two in a hidden corner or for celebrating an England goal on the big screen with fifty fellow fans. The garden works in the same way — sit under a tree and read a book, enjoy the Sunday papers on a picnic bench, or watch the kids play on the swings or on the bouncy castle, which makes an appearance with the summer.
The food here is typical pub grub, it doesn’t cost a fortune and it goes down comfortably. Look out for the grill night or the curry night!
Perhaps I also tend to intellectualise the Plough and Harrow because Thursday night is quiz night! My favourite night of the week! Just so you know this is no ordinary quiz. The standard is high and the regular teams take things very, VERY seriously. People play for glory rather than prizes and some weeks there can be over 20 teams taking part. Again, my team take advantage of the pub’s layout and hide in a corner to make sure no-​one can copy our answers! I’m very strict and cannot stand cheaters!