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The Fox Inn at Corscombe, Dorset

The Fox Inn Finding ourselves driving back to London from Devon, we called in at the Fox Inn, in the heart of Hardy's Wessex, for Sunday Lunch. This pub was recently awarded the accolade Dorset Pub 2000, so we reckoned it would be worth making the brief detour from the A30 at Crewkerne. (See directions below). The Fox Inn is the epitome of the English rural pub - thatched, adorned with hunting prints, with Labrador dogs roaming freely - but please don't feed them - and a friendly mix of locals and passing trade (us). One can well imagine why locals in some pubs resent outsiders - taking up space and generally getting in the way. If that's how the locals feel at the Fox, (and I wouldn't blame them) then clearly they're too well mannered to show it.

There are all manner of nooks and crannies where dining tables are tucked away with their blue checked cloths. One room has a great long refectory table, where diners can sit down with strangers and get to make new friends. Surely that's what pubs are for?

A school of culinary arts for pubs and inns seems to have developed over the past few years. It's a sensible and practical style, given the fact that there's often a cramped kitchen and that customers mostly want to be served a bit more quickly than in a more leisurely restaurant situation. Starters are prepared so that they can be put into a hot oven or under a grill, so gratinées of one sort or another are popular. Three of our starters were cooked in this style. There was an aubergine gratinée (though it wasn't called that), and quite a tasty crab gratin which included turbot and cod, according to the board, though it was hard to identify the last two. The third starter was a rather nice concoction of devilled pheasant, with mango chutney. It came in a gratinée dish, but sensibly, with no melted cheese.

The great pub standby for main courses is the casserole, or stew, now dignified with posh names like daube or bourguignonne. Here at the Fox, they do more exciting things with stews, like rabbit braised in cider, or lamb tagine with cous cous. Thomas Hardy would have stood amazed at such viands, not the rabbit in cider perhaps, but certainly the tagine - and what about about monkfish with red pepper salsa, or Barbary duck with Puy lentils and red cabbage? I bet the Mayor of Casterbridge himself never ate so worshipfully.

The Blackened cod - a blackboard dish - was particularly good, and its crispy spinach garnish was very nicely done. Braised venison in red wine was very dark from slow cooking in the wine and the meat was tender and the sauce thick and comforting. My medallions of venison, which cost £3 more, were hardly medallions. I like them plump and round but these were rather thin and of an irregular shape, but they were reasonably pink inside. The watery gravy was reminiscent of schooldays - even these awkwardly shaped pieces of steak deserved a glossier, richer reduction. The rack of lamb that my friend had looked very good; the chops were served rare and pink. None of the accompanying vegetables was at all overcooked and they had plenty of fresh flavour.

Puddings are good value at £3.25, and the clotted cream is wicked - don't do what I did and go to the loo just as the puds arrived. By the time I got back, my clotted cream had melted to butter. Never mind, the sticky toffee pudding was great, I'm sure Delia would have approved.

The cost of your meal:
Starters around £5.00 * Mains £7.50 - £15.00 all served with vegetables
Home made desserts and puddings all at £3.25
See sample menu below

Clifford Mould, November 1999

BED & BREAKFAST RATES at the FOX

Double Bedroom with adjacent bathroom
additional basin in the bedroom
£ 65.00 per night

Double bedroom with bathroom en-suite
£ 70.00 per night

Large Twin bedroom with bathroom en-suite
with its own direct access
£ 80.00 per night

Single Occupancy
£ 45.00 - £60.00 per night

A Full English Breakfast is included, and cooked to order.
Please advise us at what time you would like to have breakfast.
Tea and Coffee making facilities are in the bedrooms,
and fresh milk is provided on request.

All the rooms have televisions.
Please ask if you would like to use a hairdryer or iron,
or indeed if you need anything else!

The Bedrooms are all furnished with our own antique furniture,
each one having its own character and individuality.

SAMPLE MENU

STARTERS
Fish Soup with Cod Mussels & Prawns £4 95
Roast Aubergines baked with Mozzarella Garlic Tomato & Cream £4.95
Grilled Local Goat's Cheese Salad £4.50
A warm Salad of Pigeon Breast & Bacon £4.95
Fresh Vegetable Soup of the Day £3.25
Wild Mushroom Risotto with Parmesan Shavings £4.50
Devilled Crabmeat £4.95

FISH
Fish Pie with Cod, Brill and Prawns £8.50
Roast Cod Steak with a fresh Herb Crust £9.50
Fillets of Monkfish with a Red pepper Salsa £14.00
Whole grilled Lemon Sole £11.00
Salmon Fishcakes with a fresh Tomato Sauce £8.95

MEAT
Fox's Favourite. Chicken in a creamy sauce £7.50
Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Couscous £9.50
Rack of Dorset Lamb with a Rosemary Gravy £12.75
Breast of Barbary, Duck with red Wine and Cranberry Sauce £12.50
Sirloin steak (8oz) with a Garlic Sauce £10.50
Venison braised in red Wine £8.95

PUDDINGS - all at £3.25
Treacle Tart- Sticky Toffee Pudding - Bread and Butter Pudding
Creme Caramel Rich Chocolate Torte - Meringues with Clotted Cream
Vanilla Cream Terrine with Redcurrant Coulis - Sorbets & Ice
Cream
English Cheeseboard £4.25
Please see Blackboard for further choices

THE FOX INN, Corscombe
Nr Dorchester, Dorsetshire DT2 ONS
Telephone: 01935 891330
Email: dine@fox-inn.co.uk Website www.fox-inn.co.uk Directions:
Take the A356 Dorchester Road out of Crewkerne. After about 6 miles, ignore the first sign to Corscombe to the left, but take the next one, only a few yards further on. Keep on straight, don't follow the signs to the village. The Fox Inn is on the right.

UK Restaurant Reviews – The Best Of The Dine Online Restaurant Reviews 2001 - 2010


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