The Plough’s new owners have turned the Kelmscott village pub into an attraction in its own right, Katherine MacAlister learns

You can’t really separate William Morris from The Plough at Kelmscott, mainly because there’s not much else to do there than visit the pub and the famous artist’s house.

But while the pub used to be a rather drab waiting room for those hoping to get into Kelmscott Manor, it is now an attraction in its own right, having been taken over by the Snows who also run the Five Alls at Filkins, a top little boozer.

The Plough has therefore undergone a grand transformation, new menu, posey rooms, and re-opened just in time for the summer, so we rushed down last weekend.

It’s quite a grown-up affair, perhaps not best suited to children, although we took ours and waited with baited breath all through the meal in case they dropped a fork.

There is a beer garden at the front which we probably should have commandeered, but it was a tad chilly to say the least, so we made our offspring promise to be on their best behaviour, mainly through bribery, and took our seats in the traditional dining area at the back.

They have certainly made full use of the space at The Plough, as we squeezed between the tables, nearly touching knees with our neighbours, which made it extra cosy.

Needless to say the place was absolutely rammed.

There isn’t a children’s menu either, but The Plough does half portions, not always ideal as children tend to like fairly unfussy food. Eventually our waitress asked the chef to do a child-sized portion of fish and chips to keep the peace, and order was restored.

Rescued by the bar menu, they also tore into the pigs in blankets (£3.95) and a fantastic Scotch egg, while we tried the cauliflower soup and the rarebit which arrived with crusts removed and a poached egg on top.

Service was a bit slack. There were no finger bowls, salt or pepper, butter. When the burgers arrived for mains, we weren’t offered any condiments or ketchup either. Water was a struggle.

But the food more than made up for any deficiencies. “These mussels are better than the ones in France,” my children noted, as the cider, tarragon and leek juice ran down our chins. The fish stew contained hake, shellfish, mussels and clams and was served with polenta chips and consumed whole-heartedly and enthusiastically by Mr Greedy, who was very impressed.

The pork burger was a bit odd though. It wasn’t pulled but roasted and served with a great wad of crackling on top so while delicious was rather hard to eat. There was a smear of apple sauce, but otherwise it lacked any juicy burger accompaniments. But it was the desserts which woke me up. The sticky toffee pudding was really quite something and the rice pudding, delicate, gently spiced, and fragrant, and one of the best I’ve ever had the fortune to sample.

The perfect finale then, which meant that Mr Greedy didn’t mind being hauled around an historic house quite as much as normal when he could have been mowing the lawn. So thanks to The Plough for that, a very welcome distraction.

The Plough, Kelmscott, 
Lechlade 
01367 253543 info@theploughinnkelmscott.com