Rustic charm of village pub

Feb 11 2010 Buckinghamshire Advertiser

BRIAN CLARIDGE eats at the Old Queens Head, Hammersley Lane, Penn, HP10 8EY. Telephone 01494 813 371

THE Old Queens Head in the beautiful village of Penn is a traditional 17th-century pub which retains the charm and character of centuries ago.

The old beams and timbers, rustic

furniture, dark floorboards and framed prints are a reminder of the past, and there are cosy corners and open fires where you can enjoy a drink and a bite to eat.

The pub serves an excellent range of real ales, fine wines and good food and was voted Les Routiers Pub of the Year 2008. It was also nominated in the Top 100 Pubs by Eat Out magazine in May 2009.

The dining room, originally a barn, is on several floors and dates from 1666, the same year as the Great Fire of London. It is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week and booking is advised, especially at weekends when it gets busy.

I went for Sunday lunch with my family and we were amazed at the wide selection of food, which includes traditional British pub classics, seasonal menus and chalkboard specials.

Current menus can be viewed online, which change on Sunday, with a choice of Sunday roasts. The same 'style' of menus with local variations can also be found at its sister pubs - The Royal Oak (Marlow), The Swan Inn (Denham) and The Alford Arms (Frithsden).

The menu includes small plates, main meals, side orders and puddings. My 21-year-old son, Adam, and I began with creamy pea and fennel soup with farmhouse bread (£4.50), while my wife, Denise, and our 14-year-old son, Scott, both had soused herrings on chilli-spiked olives with balsamic dressing and lamb's leaf salad (£6.25).

For my main course, I had slow-cooked Chiltern lamb's shoulder with roast garlic mash and braised organic carrots (£14), while Denise ordered roast Amersham pork loin with apple sauce, roast potatoes and vegetables (£12.25). Scott chose local pork, honey and mustard sausages on mash with onion gravy (£11.25), while Adam went for roast dry-aged English sirloin of beef with Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes and vegetables (£12.75).

All dishes are freshly prepared, locally sourced and cooked to perfection (credit to head chef, Chris Delderfield). The puddings menu looked too good to resist, and we decided to throw caution to the wind. I had home-made chocolate fudge ice-cream (£4.75), while Denise went for figgy crème brûlée with sable biscuit (£5.50). Scott had classic spotted dick and custard (£5), while Adam went for rich chocolate truffle cake with pistachio ice cream (£5.75).

We were most impressed by the quality of the food, as well as the polite and efficient staff. General manager Tina Brown and deputy manager David Webster go out of their way to ensure customers in the bar and dining room are looked after and the ambience is friendly and relaxed. Free WiFi is available so you can have a working lunch when you are out of the office.

* Visit www.oldqueensheadpenn.co.uk.