The Churchill Inn, Langford Review

The Churchill Inn has a very attractive and well-maintained outside seating area with decking and plenty of room for customers to enjoy a bit of country air if the weather so dictates. The interior also has been nicely renovated with care and every corner is spic and span with a comfortable homely air; such a pleasure to dine where a spotless bar and tables is high on the agenda as you know this will extend to the kitchen.

They have a good choice of lagers (we took our old favourite Birra Moretti) an elegant ‘specials’ board and small but varied menu. All the food is homemade and to start we chose farmhouse pâté with homemade chutney, salad garnish and hot toast with butter, together with home breaded deep-fried Somerset brie, Thatcher’s cider apple compote and salad garnish.

I love a Barnsley chop which was on the menu with mash and minted gravy but for main course I was wooed away by the curry of the day (chicken) served with rice, poppadum, raita, and mango chutney; my husband chose from the ‘specials’ board, deep-fried Brixham plaice with chips and peas. We relaxed and chatted about the fact that the last time we had Brixham plaice was in Brixham so it would be interesting to see how the fish fared having gone on its holidays to Somerset!

Our starters arrived looking great; the farmhouse pâté served on a long board, and the triangles of brie on a white plate surrounded by fresh and crisp garnish. I really enjoyed my brie which was lovely dipped in the cider apple compote; the pâté was excellent too, smooth and rich with lovely hot buttered toast to spread it on.

The starter portions were very generous as were the mains : a large golden breaded plaice atop a hearty pile of thick-cut chips, tartare sauce and peas was placed reverently in front of my husband and a steaming bowl of chicken curry topped with coriander in front of me. The Brixham plaice was just as good as in its hometown and was perfectly cooked. My chicken curry was fab, the rich and spicy sauce full of large juicy pieces of chicken; I wasn’t sure I was going to make it to the last one, but I did and sent my compliments to the curry-maker in the kitchen.

As it drew dark the landlady closed the curtains which I thought was a nice touch and we told her we had had a lovely evening. The bill was incredibly reasonable taking account of the quality and plentifulness of the food and we were satisfied customers!

Jacquie Vowles