The
Fox Inn at Corscombe, Dorset
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.