Monknash, Vale of Glamorgan.
01656 890209 / www.ploughandharrow.org
For years I’ve heard fantastic things from friends and colleagues about a pub five miles west of Llantwit Major that serves excellent food and holds notorious beer festivals. Finally I found time to venture into the beautiful Vale Of Glamorgan countryside and with the help of our trusty sat nav we found ourselves outside The Plough And Harrow. On arrival, we could tell it was a popular choice with cars parked up on either side of the surrounding narrow country roads.
After a warm welcome, both by the waitress and the roaring fire within the restaurant, we took our time to look over the menu, a blackboard that hangs next to each table. I couldn’t decide between the homemade breaded Brie (£4.25) and the homemade salmon fishcake (£4.25), so I managed to persuade my lovely and easily manipulated husband to order the Brie so I could order the salmon. Both dishes were of a decent size and had a similar appearance due to their breadcrumb crust. I was glad I’d gone for the fishcake as that much Brie would’ve given me cheese-induced nightmares for a month.
My other half jumped at the opportunity to choose the traditional Welsh faggots (£7.95) from the specials board, whilst I opted for the 8oz lamb rump on a bed of root vegetable mash (£10.95). Once again the portions were ample and the quality of the food when compared to the reasonable price was fantastic. My only qualm from the whole meal is that despite being warned the lamb was served quite pink – as a personal preference I prefer it on the rarer side – this sadly wasn’t the case when it reached the table. Luckily, this didn’t affect its flavour or tenderness. ANGHARAD BROWN