The Cock, Beazley End

Last night, Tuesday 17th July, my wife and I spent two and a half hours of fantastic food and service at the Cock Inn at Beazley End.

Our initial perception was for it to be decent gastro pub food, classics with an Italian twist but the reality far surpassed our expectations.

It is fairly modest inside, decorated in the usual traditional pub furnishings, giving it an established, warm and friendly feel to it. We were welcomed as soon as we arrived and the staff were all very well presented, very pleasant and our waitress, in particular, was very knowledgeable.

I have to say that I have never reviewed a restaurant before but I was so overwhelmed by the experience I really wanted to say how well Aaron Craze has done with this pub.

Now, on to the food!

My wife and I normally partake in a Bombay Sapphire G & T as an aperitif but the lure of Peroni on draft was too much for me. And so starts our Italian adventure.

The Prosecco Bellini at the top of the menu was a good touch and it was a very quick sale once we saw it.

We started with the Insalata Salumi Misti, excellent quality cured meats drizzled in the sweetest tasting olive oil I have ever experienced. I love Italy and I love authentic Italian cuisine but I have never tasted anything that complimented the meat so incredibly well. I had the Carpaccio which was also superb.

The Tagliarini Zucchini was, again, awesome and the mint really gave it a refreshing taste. I couldn�t resist the Papardelle Ragu with Salt Marsh Lamb. I had recently heard that Lamb raised on the salt marshes give it an amazing flavour�and it does! The pasta on both dishes was absolutely fantastic.

The Agnello con Spinachi was good until my wife realised she didn�t like baked berlottie beans but my Rombo con al forno was delicious. My only one criticism was that there were three lemon thyme stalks on my plate but now I�m just being picky!

We finished it all off with some deserts and a desert wine, all of which were wonderful. We are not normally big eaters who try every course available but, from that very first taste of that Carpaccio, I knew our credit card was in for some serious mid week damage!

The time flew and we enjoyed every minute of it. Living in Bow, East London, it was only an hours drive after work and for a spontaneous night out it ticked every box for us. It was a bit tricky to find but in some way that added to the romance of the evening but my advice to them would be�.get a website with a very detailed map and directions because we will be back again soon!

19 Jul 2007 11:33