The Plough

Martin and Jayne Lee have been at the helm of the white-fronted Tudor pub in the north Bedfordshire Wolds for nigh on 20 years. The Plough still wears its age proudly, with winter fires and low beamed ceilings inside, and garden tables within sight of the river outside. Menus are coded as 'seam' and 'furrow', representing what we might otherwise call lunch and dinner, and proceedings begin with sourdough made from the kitchen's own cultivated yeast, accompanied by cultured butter and marjoram pesto to spread on it. Dayboat fish and thoroughbred meats are given the Josper grill treatment, as in whole lemon sole with pink fir potatoes and buttered spinach or a chump chop of Cornish lamb with peas à la française and rosemary jus. Beef from grass-fed suckler Hereford herds is naturally top-drawer. Dishes tend to have a lot going on – witness a starter that combines fried monkfish with charred courgette, pickled shallot and a sturdy romesco made with roasted almonds – but it all comes together with beguiling ease. Nor does the food drift into pastoral clichés: a serving of crisped Blythburgh pork belly, for example, comes tricked out with grilled asparagus, red onion and smoked tomato hollandaise. A brightly flavoured veggie main course might see a tian of ratatouille components served with roast gnocchi. Desserts tend to the seasonal farmhouse way of thinking, so expect anything from gooseberry crumble tart to a fragrant raspberry posset – albeit one booming with grappa. Wines from Noel Young of Cambridge add lustre to the occasion, from citrus-sharp Hungarian Furmint to the Dandelion McLaren Vale Shiraz that has an aromatic dash of Riesling in it. Glasses and half-bottle carafes allow for intrepid experimentation.