The Pack Horse, Northborough- Cambridgeshire.

The Pack Horse has seen its fair share of owners over the years and was recently found closed for numerous months. So when the Smee family (Keith and his two sons Sam and Jack) took over the pub in October 2012, a rather large challenge lay ahead of them. So, 10 months down the line I decided to give The Pack Horse a visit as reviews around the small village of Northborough and its surrounding areas were certainly positive.

Located within a small village on the outskirts of the Cambridgeshire countryside, the pub offers a combination of old bricks and high wooden ceiling beams, with a brand new refurbishment of both the bar and restaurant area. Although boasting frequent 'Pie Nights' and live music events, I decided to visit the Pack Horse on a Friday evening in order to view the full menu.

From 'Slow Cooked Barbary Duck Leg' to 'Saddle of Local Lamb', the menu is enticing to all food lovers and for a reasonable price ranging from £8 to £12 (excluding steak). The starters presented dishes of similar quality and following the warm loaf of bread we were presented with upon taking our seats (with a knife and butter for your own slicing!) there was no question as to what I was going to order-

A Board for Two   £10.50
A selection of salamis, smoked duck, chicken and goose, with olives, feta stuffed peppers,
fig relish, mini loaves and vegetable crisps.

Generally, images of food don't tend to serve it much justice, but in this case, the above image speaks volumes. The selection was visually enticing, in vast quantity and most importantly, delicious! I couldn't even tell you a favourite if i'm honest, from the vegetable crisps to smoked duck, every bite burst with flavour and varied in texture. AND to make things even better, the price is surprising low considering you share this with another person (making it £5.25 each!).

The starter had set the bar high and I was both excited and anxious to see if the main course would live up to the same standard. Therefore, I decided to order something that does not seem all too exciting and that could be found in many pub/restaurants in order to gain an idea of how The Pack Horse could 'stand out amongst the rest'.

Locally Sourced Lincolnshire Sausages   £9.95
With a creamy mustard sauce, savoy cabbage and potato hash.

In this case, the comment I made about generally taking photographs of food still stands, however, I can assure you that the taste did not disappoint. When meat is 'locally sourced' it tends to suggest something of quality in my eyes and this dish certainly lived up to this view. The sausages were both firm and yet crumbled slightly as high quality sausages tend to do. The potato hash was a nice touch in comparison to mashed potatoes or chips and the sauce added a nice level of richness to the dish.

Compared to your normal 'sausage and mash', this dish clearly illustrated how The Pack Horse offers much more than your standard 'pub grub' and stands them in a good position to be labelled more of a restaurant than a pub.

Too full (the starter is bigger than it looks!), I opted out for a dessert of Dulce De Leche Cheesecake with a crunchy Oreo cream or the Cheese board featuring Wodenhill Blue, Vintage Poacher and Soft Tunworth with Pack Horse chutney, crackers, grapes and celery. However, I have been reliably informed that for cheese lovers, The Pack Horse cheese board if something of a speciality; served to you individually with your own board with large blocks of cheeses and plenty of extra surprises.

Walking away from a small village pub only around £27 lighter (for the aforementioned three courses, excluding drinks) with the quality of the atmosphere, service and food that I received, returning to The Pack Horse is a 'no-brainer'!

By far the best pub for food in the area (although calling it a pub does not give it the justice it deserves)- 9/10.