If you visit a restaurant which has the courage to remark at the top of their menu that “We will only ever serve food we’d be happy to be served ourselves” then you might feel they either have a lot of balls, or quite simply, they know they’re good at what they do. This was the message at the top of the menu for The Black Horse, Woburn, and the latter very much applies.

It’s difficult to find anyone who has a bad word to say about this establishment, and after my visit…..I realised why. My guest and I arrived on a Tuesday evening to what was already a heavily populated, but not crowded restaurant. How many places do you know that would be this busy on a Tuesday? We decided to have a drink in the beer garden first, which runs along the side of the pub. A long, narrow garden is both tranquil and relaxing. We took the opportunity to view the menu before being seated and were already excited about what was on offer.

Décor                                                                                                                                                                                            A small and cosy bar greets you to the left when you enter the pub. The restaurant, like the beer garden, is reasonably long and narrow. The tables are chunky, well spaced and the lighting is perfect in helping to create a warm, friendly ambience.

The food                                                                                                                                                                                   There is a good choice of starters, and I was impressed that some of these could be ordered as mains too. I chose the Confit Lamb Belly, Baby Peas, Green Beans, Cherry Tomatoes and Mint Dressing (£6.50). This was an amazing dish. The lamb simply fell apart when cut, and in my ongoing pursuit for “tasty” food, this simply beat the lot. Well presented, this dish was complimented by the perfectly cooked vegetables and proved a wonderful start to my meal.  

My guest ordered the Bacon, Beetroot and Goats Cheese Tart, Mixed Leaf Salad (£5.75). This was, according to my guest, a dish that “melted in the mouth and was simply fantastic.”

For mains I decided to try the Breast Of Duck, Sesame Seed, Green Beans, Buttered Jersey Royals, Gooseberry Jam (£14). I cringe if anyone orders duck well done, but I am also wary if it arrives too pink. Need I have worried? Not only are the ingredients incredibly fresh, the Chef knows how to cook his food. The duck was tender, not over cooked and extremely well presented. A word of mention also has to be given to the Jersey Royals. Full of taste, my only complaint was that there couldn’t have been more of them with the dish.

My guest chose the Crispy Pork Steak, Sauted Shallots, Aubergine, Courgettes and Roast Tomatoes (£13.50). My guest went unusually quiet and said very little to me during this part of the meal. This was clearly another fine dish which, upon completion was according to my guest, “A must try for anyone coming here."

The Black Horse has an extensive wine selection. With my choice of food, the Côtes du Ventoux, Les Sablons, Terraventoux France (£16.00) stood out for me but I decided to go on my waiter’s recommendation. With much delight, he chose the same! This wine is described as easy-drinking, characterful Syrah Grenache blend from the foothills of Mont Ventoux. I am not totally sure “characterful” is a real word, but I’d recommend anyone to try this wine. It has a wonderful aroma and as far as “easy drinking” goes, this is as easy as it gets!

For desserts I was now full but I was delighted to see there was a choice of Creamy Hot Chocolate & Marshmallows (£3). On arrival, this doesn’t look like a hot chocolate you can drink. You’ll need your spoon to remove the delicious cream and marshmallows before getting to the creamy chocolate. What a pleasant change this was to end my meal - something sweet and incredibly tasty, yet not too filling.

My guest (a chocoholic like me) plumped for the Chocolate Tart and Mint Choc-Chip Ice Cream (£5.00). This dish did not last long! The two “combined to perfection” according to my guest who not for the first time of the night uttered the words “Wow!”

Service                                                                                                                                                                                      The staff at The Black horse clearly know their job and go about their business in a polite and professional manner without becoming too much of an influence on your meal or your evening in general. They were there when we needed them and simply helped to make the evening flow. In a nutshell….first class.

Atmosphere                                                                                                                                                                               How many times will we blame a poor atmosphere on the night of the week? How many times will we say “it was quiet but it was a Tuesday?” Well there was no chance of doing so here. The establishment was packed with happy, smiley people who were clearly having a great time. The tasteful music is accompanied by a light buzz of chatter and laughter and this is definitely the place to be.

Compliments to the Chef!