The Plough Inn

A fantastic Christmas day dining experience, all the staff were extremely attentive and entertaining and the food was delicious. My requests for our fussy 4 year old were dealt with so well. The christmas decor was gorgeous and the table was set immaculately. Each place setting had a personalised menu, with each guests name on and dining choices, a lovely detail. A special thanks to Emma who we booked with and emailed many times over the dining choices and details of the day. I can safely say, she made sure everything was perfect!

We popped in recently for a drink and, unfortunately, it confirmed what we had already felt after eating here over Christmas, sad to say this place has really gone downhill. The older grey-haired waitress who served us was sour faced and came across as disingenuous, with a forced and slightly sarcastic manner. The younger staff at least managed to smile, but that was about the extent of the welcome. On past visits, when the owners are present, the staff seem to work better but only because they are clearly trying to keep them happy. When left to run the pub their own way, with no real management, it creates a noticeably crappy atmosphere. This wasn’t helped by a female chef repeatedly coming out into the bar area singing loudly, which felt unprofessional and rather intrusive in the dining area. We considered staying to eat, but the menu was repetitive and uninspiring, with nothing that stood out. Our Christmas meal still lingers for all the wrong reasons. We had taken other couples with us expecting something special, and it was frankly embarrassing. The turkey was drowned in gravy yet still somehow dry, the pig in blanket was no bigger than a fingernail, and the portions overall were poor. We were still hungry afterwards, so ordered the cheese terrine, which tasted sour and was overwhelmed by far too much chutney. The service was terrible, at one point the waitress thought we were smiling at her, in reality we wanted a drink! She just smiled back! I don’t enjoy writing things like this, but with so many other nice places offering warm, friendly welcomes, it really needs to be said. It’s a real shame, as this pub used to be far better. Sadly, standards in both food and atmosphere have slipped badly, and we won’t be in a hurry to return.

We had our amazing wedding day at The Plough Inn, Eaton, on the 5th of June this year. ||We first popped over to The Plough, just for a ride out to see where it was exactly, on the 17th of March 2024, and we asked if we could ‘pop’ our heads inside the Oak Barn to have a peek. Oh, my word, what an amazing venue this place is! This was the first venue we went to view, and we both fell in love with it immediately. So much so that we never visited anywhere else! ||Our day couldn’t have been any more perfect! The staff are absolutely amazing, they looked after us from the very first day we visited, right through to the time everyone went home at the end of our special day. The food was delicious! We gave our guests two options of what they wanted to eat, and we only found out on the day of the wedding that one of our guests had just been told that week that they had a dietary issue, which meant he couldn’t have the meal he had originally asked for. The kitchen staff had no problem organising a different meal for our guest to suit his dietary needs at the last minute. Every one of our guests commented on how delicious the food was. ||All of our guests said that it was an amazing venue and the best wedding they had been to. ||Jo and Laurie for everything they did, and to all the staff for making our day so perfect. The whole team were nothing short of amazing, they took everything out of our hands so we could relax and enjoy every moment of our day. ||Mr & Mrs Warner 5th June 2025

Excellent service, excellent food. We booked a table for 12 for our walking group. We were welcomed in by friendly staff on time to a long table in the orangery - a lovely room. Drink orders were taken straight away and served promptly, and then our lunch orders taken quickly. The meals all arrived within half an hour of our arrival and everyone enjoyed their food. We'll certainly drop in again some time.

Our second visit "Motel style " rooms. Clean modern very comfortable Diner in the orangery. Nice menu maybe concentrate on quality over quantity as very large portions. And an extensive menu But still good. Breakfast efficient hot and fresh. |Staff absolutely lovely Maybe a little pricey for a pub b&b

The restaurant is very cramped when busy. Tables are very close together and the dining area at the bar was too hot. Couldn’t really accommodate our dogs (even though advertised as dog friendly) as there was insufficient space. Food was good enough, service was friendly.

We booked a table for 17:30, but sadly our experience was ruined by terrible service. Two of our party arrived at 17:40 due to traffic, drinks were taken promptly on arrival, but from there it went downhill. We were left sitting in the corner with no service, having to get up and ask for our order to be taken—only to be told “no, sorry, you’ll have to wait, we have a gold package wedding function on and all our chefs are busy with that.” At no point during booking or on arrival were we told about this function, or how long the delay might be. We ended up waiting 1.5 hours just to place an order, and during that time no one came over to offer us more drinks. When the order was finally taken, the attitude made us feel like we were an inconvenience rather than paying guests. The food arrived within 10 minutes, which was at least a relief as everyone was starving by then. Unfortunately, the wrong meal was brought out for me, so I had to wait again while everyone else ate. For a bill of £134.50 on a Thursday night, I expected much better treatment. Two people in our group had never been to The Plough before, and sadly this left a very poor first impression. The food itself was average at best—burgers were dry, nothing special, certainly not worth the wait or the money. Overall, a hugely disappointing evening. If wedding functions mean regular diners are pushed aside, customers should be told upfront so they can make other plans.

We visited yesterday for a family wedding and we were made to feel very welcome from the start. It is a super wedding venue and the staff were very organised and ensured that it all ran very smoothly. One member of staff who stood out to us was Sophie. She was so accommodating and nothing was too much trouble for her. She served the canapés in a very efficient and friendly manner. The following morning ( today ) she served us with a delicious breakfast and was as helpful as she had been yesterday. She certainly stood out to us but I will add that all the staff worked efficiently and calmly throughout the day. Thank you for a lovely day xx

The Yorkshire puddings and full English breakfast are delicious. I attended a wedding, the staff were very attentive to the needs of the wedding party. They went out of their way to please everybody. The highlight for me was that even though the wedding had a set menu, they kindly accommodated my request for a Yorkshire pudding. The entire day was perfect, the rooms were lovely. I did see some of the meals being served in the pub and they looked fantastic, particularly the Sunday roast and Yorkshire puddings. If the breakfast had a Yorkshire pudding I would have had one.

Came wanting some uncomplicated pub grub, ended up leaving still hungry, disappointed, and out of pocket. Since the new management have taken over (2014 onwards) the price of a pint has skyrocketed (now around £3.50) and their beer selection has reduced, driving out the locals, alongside the food being priced and described as gourmet gastro pub stuff and arriving as lacklustre, poorly-cooked, tiny portions, with ingredients missing that were specified on the menu. One meal, the portobello mushroom linguine, looked like we had been given a starter portion by mistake. One Greek salad starter didn't even include the feta cheese. The only plus was the nice chunky chips that came with the steak & ale pie. £10-£15 for meals that should have cost £5-£10. Also, we had to wait an hour and a half for the kitchen to reopen at 6pm for the evening, and then were encouraged to order before 7pm so they could cater for the wedding function on in the venue. Seems they didn't try to impress us at all. Avoid unless you enjoy wasting time and money on overpriced average food.