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Tony Rowen discovers not to judge a pub by its name alone

The name of a pub is often a cause for much debate and speculation.

Tony Rowen discovers not to judge a pub by its name alone

The name of a pub is often a cause for much debate and speculation. The Bucket of Blood in Cornwall, The Inn Next Door Burnt Down in Bedfordshire and The Cat & Custard Pot in Kent are three that are likely to have been much debated over a pint or two.

Here in Northamptonshire, one of the names that always gets people talking is The World’s End  in EctonOne theory is that it got its name from the time when it was used as a temporary prison for those being transported to London for trial after being captured in the Battle of Naseby in 1645 during the Civil War.

Another is that when John Cole visited in 1825, he described the pub’s sign as being that of a man on a horseback at the abyss as the end of the world with the steed rearing up. Whichever version is correct The Globe, as it was originally called, became The World’s End and continues to known as that, although these days it is abbreviated to TWE.

This came about in 2006, when Andrew Chapman took over the pub that had been a favourite stopping off point on the old main road between Northampton and Wellingborough – now the A4500 – and transformed it into a one-stop destination venue with the addition of 20 luxury boutique bedrooms, fully equipped conference facilities and a split level bar and restaurant.

My previous visits to TWE have been to meet up with family and friends for a drink and a bite to eat for the Light Bites menu in the bar, but I had not eaten in the restaurant.

We might have expected warm May evening sunlight to be pouring though the full-length windows on two sides of the restaurant, but with the weather forecasters’ prediction of a month’s rainfall in a day proving correct, the warm bit of the welcome to my friend Anita and I was provided by Andrew.

Despite or, perhaps, in spite of the weather, the lure of the new Spring Menu had attracted a healthy number of people to the restaurant, which has three light-coloured walls with the fourth patterned, plum coloured curtains and ceiling-recessed lighting. We were shown across the dark carpeted floor to a table just below the elevated section screened with etched glass panels.

Real potted plants adorn the sturdy light-coloured, clothless, wooden tables which have two-toned leather high-backed chairs at their side.

There are eight sections to the menu – While You’re Waiting, Starters, Original TWE Grazing Boards, Old Comforts, TWE’s Famous Burgers, Main Dishes, Stone Fired Homemade Pizza and Great Steaks – plus the Specials – starters, mains and puds – created by the talented team of chefs.

Selecting from the multi-sectioned menu is not such a daunting task as it might first appear. Basically, it breaks down into starters and then deciding whether you want an Old Comfort, such as fish and chips or bangers and mash, a burger (steak and coriander, venison or Cajun chicken), pizza, a steak or a genuine main – Oriental-style pork belly, turkey escalope, pan-seared lamb rump, seabass fillet, whole lemon sole, braised lamb shank confit duck leg or the vegetarian choice of recotta, spinach and pine nut risotto.

Normally, I wouldn’t consider soup in May, but the dismal weather outside made me think it was mid-winter, so I opted for the mushroom and tarragon soup with a superb hunk of local rustic bread, while the oven roasted breast of quail and three ways sweetcorn (popcorn, sweetcorn and sweetcorn puree) from the Specials menu got Anita’s vote.

For the main courses, we both chose from the Main Dishes section of the menu. Seabass fillet with potato gnocchi, samphire and caviar for Anita, and whole lemon sole with new potatoes, mixed salad and hollandaise for me.

Fish is a regular favourite for my friend, while it is rare I choose the fish option in restaurants. It is ages since I had lemon sole, but it really appealed on this particular night and I was night disappointed. It was cooked to perfection and the succulent meat just slid off the bone.

The two puds on the Specials menu found favour with us – plum tarte tatin and vanilla ice cream and lemon posset and mixed berries – a perfect end to a very enjoyable meal, which was accompanied by a bottle of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc for the Wonderful Whites section of the Wine List which also includes Riotous Reds and FizzTWE has come a long way from its days as a temporary prison in the 17th Century and even my early association with it in the late 1960s. Today it is not only a place to meet, but to eat, drink and stay as well.

Andrew and his team deliver on all four fronts. On the night of this visit, 70 covers were served in the restaurant and bar and all 20 rooms were occupied for the night. The only thing missing is the sun, so that diners and drinks can take advantage of the superb outdoor decked area.

Every Thursday is Ladies Night – three courses for £15, and on Sunday between noon and 8pm, two courses cost £10.95 and three courses £13.95

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