The Horse and Groom, Upper Oddington

I must admit that I was a bit disappointed by The Horse and Groom.  It should be good, it seemed like it would be.  A simple dining room off the bar, neutrally but cosily decorated, and a big chalk board of specials supplemented a good, fairly short menu of local produce.  So far so good.

To rewind a little, we had booked a good six weeks in advance as we were staying at the hotel for the night.  Even so, 8.30pm was the earliest we could have dinner.  We decided to skip starters and go straight for mains.  I chose pave of salmon from the specials, which came with a cream sauce and pureed carrot.  My ma had lamb, which came with a selection of vegetables.  The problem was just that it was all a bit bland.  The fish was nicely cooked but the sauce added very little and the carrots were more tasteless than baby food.  A similar scenario occurred with the meat.  We hoped to have better luck with puddings but both the chocolate mousse that my mum had and my poached fruit with ice cream were just ok.  We rounded off with coffee.  I desperately wanted to have a fantastic evening but in the end it was just ok.  Staff were friendly, although one didn't speak English.  One minor complaint about the atmosphere was the big light directly over our table which was a bit headache-inducing (I did in fact leave with one).

Two courses, half a bottle of wine and a coffee: £35 per head

Value: 6/10

Service: 7/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Food: 6/10

SCORE: 26/40

The Horse and Groom Village Inn, Upper Oddington, Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire, GL56 0XH.  Tel: 01451 830584.