Jump to content

Must eat (and drink) pubs on the Stourport ring


Neil Ryan

Featured Posts

12 minutes ago, captain birdseye said:

Isn't there a pub with a large beer garden and moorings on the towpath not far below Bratch. It does food and sells a couple of real beers but I can't remember its name

I suspect you are thinking of the Round Oak below Bumblehole lock.

 

I stopped there once with the extended family while on a hire trip (Stourport ring with extension from Stourton up to the winding hole below the Bratch). It was the best stop of the trip despite the fact it's a standard Marston's offering which you wouldn't go out of your way to recommend. It just goes to show that the recipe for a good stopping place is more complex than the style of pub or the absolute quality of food and drink. It has a lot to do with the company, getting a good spot and the frame of mind you arrive in.

 

Note that most of the latter suggestions including this, the Bell at Trysull and the facilities on offer at Compton are probably not on the route that will be taken.

 

JP

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 08/02/2019 at 10:38, mrsmelly said:

Just in case people dont know how this works, and many of Joe Public simply dont know how it works I will give a bit of advice. These ratings although can be of assistance on occasion are often a red herring and often nothing to do with cleanliness.  The main thing the EHO check in all visits is your paperwork. There are lists needed for what and when an item/area was cleaned and most importantly a record of temperatures for each and every fridge/freezer on the premises all numbered. These temperatures have to be taken twice a day every day and recorded and more often in hot weather.  There is paperwork required that lists ALL allergens in every meal you do to show to Joe Public.  A sign MUST be displayed stating ask a member of staff etc etc if you have any allergies. You have to be fastidious with this paperwork as the EHO just appear sometimes out of the blue. More points are awarded for paperwork than actual cleanliness. It is very easy to have a superb, immaculate kitchen and utensils etc and only get a 2 or 3 scoring because you havnt done the paperwork. You can also have a pretty god awful cleaning schedule and a grubby kitchen and still get a 4 if you paperwork is brilliant. A low score usualy means not good but can mean that a storage area needs the walls painting etc even if the cupboards are clean etc. Just thought it worth a mention.  Just to finish with our places we always had a 5 on every visit!! But its not the b all and end all.

This is true up toa point, but you can't score 1 star without your cleanliness beeing poor too.  If other factors are good but your paperwork lets you down, you'll get at least 2-3 stars.  More than that, in the vast majority of cases, paperwork not completed goes hand in hand with poor hygeine in other areas too.  If the owner hasn't even the wearwithall to ensure their staff are ticking the boxes each day, it indicates they couldn't give a stuff, and their kitchens probably aren't clean either.  Many years ago, I had to do food inspections and, in my experience, any premises not getting at least 3 stars had a kitchen which was revolting and I wouldn't eat a thing from there.  I suspect that most members of the public, if they saw how bad many commercial kitchens are, they would be appalled. 

 

Strangely, when the local paper reports a nice restaurant or pub getting 0 or 1 star, the owner is always quoted syaing it's just because of the paperwork.  Well, they would say that, wouldn't they?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.