The Maltsters - Daventry

When we turned up the male behind the bar was vaping I thought vaping and smoking were band inside pubs and was talking to his mate so it took ages to get served. When we went to the pub previously they did cocktails so I was looking forward to having one over Christmas to be told NO we don’t do them not even a simple cocktail. I did hear that the male was the manager well if this was the case he could dress a bit smarter and I think it would be great if people didn’t sit up the bar, reserved tables in the front of the pub and just keep the back room for eating.

Very disapointing. We had held a small function here in March '23 and on the sucess of that plan a repeat in March '24 so, knowing it had changed hands in the meantime, we booked a table for just ourselves to check it out. On arrival we found there was no reservation recorded even though it had been made several days earlier. However a table was available by the door into the kitchen. My wife chose two starters -Asparagas tartlet then Prawns with mixed veg. I chose baked camambert then Beef burgignon with chips. The asparagas tartlet was crisp and very dainty with a minimal amount of asparagas. The prawns were inedible having so much pepper in the sauce that my wife, who is normally happy with spicy, peppery food rejected it . We asked th waitress to inform the chef but there was no response from the kitchen. The waitress did offer to get her something else but there was nothing else on the menu that she wanted. The camambert was fine, being a good portion Le Rustique soft and runny and well within the sell by date printed on the case. My beef dish was not as flavoursome as I had expected of Burgignon The chips were nicely cloured but had an oily look and no crispness at all. I suspect they had come from the freezer via a dip in warm oil. I normally wolf down all the chips on the plate but a good half went back to the kitchen..We usually like to look at the desert menu but gave it a miss as we had no expectations. I went to the bar to pay. The barman asked if we had enjoyed the meal so I told him it was not to our taste as the prawns were inedible owing to the amount of pepper and that we had sent that message to the chef. He was happy to take the full amount from my credit card. Such a pity when we had had such a good experience here with Lucile in charge 9 months ago. We are still looking for a venue for our function next March.

This restaurant is open all day and has received positive reviews, but the actual experience was quite disappointing. The food was below average and appeared to be microwaved. The chips were reheated, the garlic prawns were in a watery sauce that left much to be desired. The beef bourguignon and mashed potatoes looked like they came from a can. The place is overpriced and run-down.

While staying in the village, we enjoyed visiting this restaurant. The ambiance is warm and inviting, and the food exceeded our expectations.

We were lucky enough to be able to book in on Sunday morning for lunch the same day after a walk in Badby Woods, and so glad we did. Really excellent food and nice to get a choice of how the beef was cooked unusual for a Sunday roast at a pub. Meat arrived cooked perfectly, roast potatoes were incredible, some of the best cauliflower cheese I've ever had. Couldn't have asked for more, will definitely be back!