1 /5 Danielle Gould: I’ve been coming to The Spotted Cow every Mother’s Day for the last few years and have always had lovely food, great atmosphere, and friendly staff which is why this visit was such a disappointment.
There were four of us visiting for a birthday meal, and we all had three courses. I started with squid and prawns (nearly £12), which arrived chewy, with hardly anything on the plate, and served with what tasted like shop-bought sweet chilli sauce that didn’t complement the dish at all.
For my main, I ordered my usual seabass — something I’ve always loved here. Previously it came with a light garlic drizzle, dauphinois potatoes, cherry tomatoes, and beautiful butterflied king prawns. This time it was completely different: a thick, heavy creamy garlic sauce that overwhelmed the fish, dauphinois potatoes topped with a dense layer of cheese, no cherry tomatoes, and just two chewy tiger prawns instead of the usual three all while the price had gone up. The vegetables also seemed frozen, with soggy green beans that had no freshness at all. I was disappointed, but hungry, so ate it anyway.
Dessert was Eton Mess (nearly £8), which turned out to be mostly ice cream with frozen berries and barely any meringue.
We later realised the pub has changed hands, and sadly the food quality really reflected that. To add to the uncomfortable experience, the entire family (including staff and their relatives) were eating their dinner in the restaurant while service was ongoing, which felt quite unprofessional and like I was in a cafe.
We left feeling gutted this place used to be somewhere we genuinely looked forward to visiting, but this time the whole experience was completely different and not in a good way.
