I'm thinking this is pretentious

[MikeRafone]

https://www.countrycreatures.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/DRD-Dinner-Menu-23.05.25.pdf

just checking out places to eat as I'm staying nearby late August for one night. I expect the Cotswolds to be on the pricey side but the wording on this menu and the prices I find are all a bit much..

Or am I really that out of touch?

I live 50 miles north and am travelling through, so I do know what the area is like.

I shall not be eating there and will grab something in Lechlade I expect.

Looks completely normal to me

I don’t think pretentious is the right word but it does sound pretty expensive for pub food. The portions look small and it doesn’t sound especially interesting to be at those prices. £36 for pork belly and crackling is about £10 more than I’d expect to pay (for probably a bigger portion). But I’m from the south east and I think the Cotswolds is known for being expensive

Basically this

but im someone that's more than happy with a Nando's 🤦🏻‍♀️

There’s a great chip shop in Lechlade, I’d just go there and sit by the river like the peasant I am 😁

Looks quite nice to me. Pricey, but it's the Cotswolds in August so...

Are you actually working for this restaurant and this is a secret advert?

I think it looks so lovely that I suspect you are doing it to tantalise us 😂

I find “from the embers” and the lack of £ sign pretentious - it’s a pub selling food
I doubt me putting something on here is going to harm them, many think it’s looking good - so a positive

Jersey Royals in August ?

Apart from that, seems quite reasonable to me.

I couldn't consider somewhere that serves rotisserie chicken pretentious tbh.

It’s for JD Vance and his multiple security details.

50 mile commute for a hospitality job, not on your nelly

😂😂

Is it in Turkish lira?

Can you give me a name of said chip shop😊

I could find lots of things to eat on that menu, , but it is at the pricier end of the market where I am.

Seems very keen on burning stuff!

I live in London, and it looks pretty expensive to me - especially if it is essentially a pub.

There is a real trend at the moment on fancy restaurant menus of just listing the ingredients in a dish rather than writing an actual description in a sentence. I do find it irritating and pretentious but have to say I generally have a good experience at places with these kinds of menus! We have a local restaurant whose menus read like this. It makes me roll my eyes a bit but the food is absolutely excellent.

looks normal to me

Looks like quite a normal menu to me. Could be a bit more descriptive. Usually you get a few more words about how it will be cooked and presented. So if anything, it is kind of bare bones.

Monica’s plaice

Park in the riverside car park. Walk up through the park and over the bridge towards the town. You’ll pass a pub on the left. Little way up there is a T junction, bear left. You’ll see the chip shop over the road. They have a few seats if it’s raining.

thanks 🤩

I’m not driving 😂
I probably should avoid the chippy to be honest - but I will find something suitable to to fuel the next days travelling

Nevermind that, asparagus in August? Just no. The season ends at the end of June.

Other than that, and the single option for non-meat-eaters, it looks pretty standard for a gastropub.

I agree. I'd go there if I could afford it. Never seen a range of beef like that before.

I’d go to the Riverside in Lechlade. Went for the location but thought the food was pretty good. The New Inn wasn’t bad either

Unwanky pub classics at prices that didn’t make this northerner gasp.

Don’t find the menu you linked pretentious but I don’t find it very appealing. Too much aioli and burnt stuff. Burnt lemon this, burnt apple that. I’m sure it hits its target market perfectly but I’m not it

I think that menu looks lovely. I have certainly seen far more pretentious menus than that.

It’s certainly a bit pricey but I’d love to go there.