Inside the Fox and Hounds, Shawbury

Reviewer’s rating **** Times are hard for publicans, this much we know, writes Andy Richardson. Rising wholesale prices for beer, increased taxes on alcohol and the fall in costs for booze brought from supermarkets have hit the licensed trade harder than a Manny Pacquiao left, right, left.

In these times of austerity, the salvation for pubs would appear to lie in good quality food delivered at affordable prices.

Which is why the Fox and Hounds, at Shawbury, can expect to emerge from the present recession relatively unscathed. It’s an excellent venue that provides good quality food at affordable prices, not to mention first rate service.

My wife and I had been told we ought to visit by friends who had enjoyed a delightful meal there. The pub has recently been given a makeover and is spick and span both inside and out.

The interior has a huge bar at its hub but there are plenty of anterooms dotted around, in which to eat. We called in at a ridiculously early hour on a Friday evening, expecting the venue to be deserted apart from the bar staff. It was not. A steady stream of regulars were making their way through the doors, pulling a bar stool and settling themselves in for what looked like being a lengthy evening ahead.

Most ordered from the menu, picking out favourites that they sure-as-eggs chose each Friday of each week.

Providing good quality food at affordable prices isn’t easy. Many Shropshire venues make a gallant attempt, only to be let down by indifferent ingredients, a lack of expertise in the kitchen or poor presentation. Even worse, many local pubs let themselves down by buying in cheap beef from Argentina or lamb that’s been shipped from New Zealand.

The Fox and Hounds provides a refreshing antidote to those depressing corner cutters. It aims to stock ingredients from the finest local producers, so you’ll typically find food on its menus from Cherrington, Wenlock Farm, Bing’s Heath and Buttercross Farm. Presently, the venue manages to source an exceptionally impressive 90 per cent of its ingredients from Shropshire suppliers, making it one of the county’s best for seasonality and freshness.

Service is something in which the venue takes great pride. We were served by a French waiter whose skill and expertise were apparent from the off. He was discreet, charming and, I’m pretty sure, got my wife’s heart racing with his easy wit and Gallic je ne sais quoi.

Of course, the most important ingredient at any good dinner is the food. And The Fox and Hounds excelled itself with delicious, delicately-prepared dishes that married flavours and textures with consummate skill.

The impressive menu contained a list of dishes that I’d have been happy to choose. The crayfish, crab and prawn cocktail with a piquant sauce and granary bread is, for instance, on my list of ‘must eats’ for my next visit.

After some deliberation, I opted to start with the local ham hock terrine with curried apple chutney and soda bread. It was delicious, with the spicy curried flavour and sweet apple proving to be the perfect accompaniment to the sweet and salty ham. My wife started with an equally delicious chicken liver pate with red onion marmalade and melba toast. There were no traces of it left by the time the waiter arrived to collect our plates.

I opted for the pan-fried, free range chicken breast with chorizo risotto as my main course. The chicken was expertly cooked, though the chorizo needed to be refined, with smaller pieces of chorizo and finely chopped sun dried tomatoes being used to replace the big chunks it contained. My wife was perfectly happy with her creamy fish pie, which oozed class and was served with steamed vegetables.

For dessert, I enjoyed a rhubarb crumble with creme Anglais, which was reasonably good and would have been improved by a thicker, more-vanilla cream. My wife was perfectly happy with her luxurious ice-creams.

The Fox and Hounds is leading the fight back for local pubs with great food.

MENU SAMPLE

Starters
Local asparagus with poached, free range egg and hollandaise (£5.50)

Main courses
Pan fried chicken breast with chorizo risotto (£13.95); Creamy fish pie (£11.50)

Desserts
Sorbets: lemon, mango or raspberry (£4.50)

ATMOSPHERE
Spot on. It’s got that down-at-home feel or a local pub, while small dining rooms are intimate for couples.

SERVICE
Excellent. Our French waiter worked with flair and panache

DISABLED FACILITIES
Facilities are good

ADDRESS

Fox and Hounds, Wytheford Road, Shawbury, SY4 4JG
info@foxandhoundsshawbury.co.uk
Tel: 01939 250600