Fully satisfied by hearty food in rural setting (From Echo)

Fully satisfied by hearty food in rural setting

7:00am Thursday 10th November 2011 in Leisure By Lauren Smith

STEEPED in more than 300 years of history, the Plough & Sail is a beautiful setting to while away a Sunday afternoon.

The traditional timber-framed building was the meeting place in 1890 for the crews of the 30 oyster smacks working out of Paglesham.

It has managed to maintain this feel of a traditional country inn, even though its clientele has changed vastly over the years.

Now, you can enjoy a ramble through the countryside along the River Roach before settling down to fill your belly in front of the huge brick fireplace.

We were instantly impressed by the warm welcome. Despite its rural setting this certainly isn’t just a pub for local people.

The menu is filled with all the pub grub favourites you’d expect and are served in hearty measures.

I opted for the soup of the day, a wholesome butternut squash accompanied by a large chunk of bread. It certainly warmed me up inside and was spicy and full of flavour.

My boyfriend went for the tiger prawns with chilli and garlic butter, which he felt had just the right amount of spice, a little kick without being too overpowering so you could still taste the prawns. They had also been well-prepared as they had been de-veined carefully.

His daughter tried the field mushroom topped with onion and brie, which she polished off in seconds as it wasn’t too greasy.

For the main course, I went for the roast beef and I have to admit I was defeated by the mounds of tender meat, roast parsnips, crispy roast potatoes and cabbage, but found it very enjoyable.

When my boyfriend’s cod arrived I immediately thought it looked as big as his head, and was unsure if he could manage it all.

But he cleared his plate, and said the batter had a good beer flavour.

It was served with chunky chips, which his daughter also had with her dish. She usually only likes chip shop chips, but declared these were lovely.

She had the home-made chicken kiev, which was a huge piece of succulent meat.

I was impressed to see it was served on the bone and looked far different to the mass-produced kievs you get in the shops. It came with a garlic butter, which wasn’t overpowering, and a delicious breaded coating.

I felt there was no way we could manage dessert, but with a board displaying 14 home-made options, I felt it would be a disservice not to try.

My boyfriend went for the white chocolate panacotta which slipped down a treat and was well accompanied by a tangy raspberry coulis.

We girls shared a strawberry pavlova and we found the meringue deliciously light.

In fact, we polished the whole thing off despite our full stomachs.

We had such an enjoyable afternoon we left vowing to come back, but reminded ourselves we would have a good long walk first to justify over-indulging ourselves What we ate Soup of the day £4.25 Tiger prawns £5.95 Mushroom with onions and brie £5.25 Roast beef £10.95 Chicken kiev and chips £11.95 Cod and chips £10.95 White chocolate £4.95 Strawberry pavlova £4.95 Our verdict Oout of 5 Atmosphere 5 Food 4 Decor 5 Value 4 Service 4 Disabled acess: No toilet