Review: Clog and Billycock, Pleasington

4:30pm Saturday 7th January 2012 in Latest restaurant reviews Photograph of the Author By John Anson, Features editor

REPUTATION Clog and Billycock, Pleasington REPUTATION Clog and Billycock, Pleasington

What better way than to set the standards for dining out in 2012 than a visit to one of East Lancashire’s premier eating establishments?

By now everyone is probably aware of the Clog’s pedigree – a Ribble Valley Inn, with top chef Nigel Haworth’s commitment to quality and local produce engrained in its DNA.

But reputation is one thing, being able to consistently live up to expectations is another.

When we visited, the place was buzzing.

But our greeting was totally unflustered, we were calmly shown to a table, had the (many) specials explained and given time to make our selections.

And you will need time as you will be guaranteed a dining dilemma.

I went for my usual.

On the menu its billed as a char grilled rump steak on a toasted English muffin. In reality, it’s a posh burger.

What makes establishments like the Clog a cut above is the attention to detail.

So for your £10.50 you get lots of little pots to play with including a wonderful mustard mayonnaise and some of the best chips around, couble cooked in dripping.

The better half went for another traditional favourite the Lancashire hotpot (also £10.50), again beautifully presented with a crispy potato topping, huge, tender chunks of meat and the vital red cabbage accompaniment.

The pudding menu is a dream for the sweet-toothed.

For me, the big winner is always the traditional pancakes (£5) available with a variety of toppings – I went for the blueberries and ice cream.

The better half indluged herself with the double chocolate mousse with milk foam and warm chocoalte sauce which was just as good as it sounds.

Sure the Clog can be beaten on price but it sets the standards for quality against which I’ll be judging all others in the months to come.

Comments(6)

barnabas54 says...
7:35am Mon 9 Jan 12

I visited the Clog with my daughter over the Christmas period. Our first impression was the lack of any sort of ambience at all, far to many people jostling for room and no Christmas atmosphere.We had the sea food platter as our starter and very good it was. However-we both went for the rib-eye steak, which was frankly, a disaster. Very stringy, practically raw and nearly inedible. Very disappointing. The chap on the next table had the same, he got the manageress over and complained, we had allowed our plates with all the meat still on them removed. When I politely mentioned to the manageress that we had a similar experience she did not want to know. I will not be returning.

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Ex-Darrener says...
6:44pm Mon 9 Jan 12

I think the comment above says it all about the Clog - it's just as likely to be a disappointing experience as a good one. I would rather spend my hard-earned money at a place that really cares about being consistently good, such as the marvellous Smiths Arms at Lea Town or the Cavendish Arms at Brindle. We haven't been back to the C and B since we found a bone in my little daughter's children's fish and all that having to order at the bar (which reviewer John doesn't mention) is a turn-off. At those prices, a little waiter/ess service would be welcome. It's all rather too production line for me - get 'em in, get' em served, get 'em out.

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al says says...
1:37pm Tue 10 Jan 12

C&B food is OK, but certainly nothing special.
Ordering at the bar (like being in a tacky Beefeater) and having to hand over your debit card before any produce will pass your way (don't they trust me?) reduces the experience to no better than average.

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juanbbien says...
3:10pm Tue 10 Jan 12

Seems pricey to me fifteen pound fifty for a Hot Pot and dessert,so for two people with a drink each you are probably looking at the best part of forty quid,no thanks way to expensive

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seasicksteve says...
7:09pm Mon 7 May 12

I have just returned from the Clog and Billycock. The first thing to strike me was the ridiculously pretentious menu. We all like to know where the food comes from but do we really need to know who knits the organic cotton bags the potatoes are delivered in ( this is an exaggeration but have a look at this menu and you will see what I am getting at)
I ordered a medium cooked char grilled burger and a cold half raw burger with cold (cooked in locally produced dripping no less) chips was plonked down in front of me. My daughter had also ordered the burger and hers was in the same state. I returned mine and did not want a replacement but my daughter foolishly asked for another burger which arrived suspiciously quickly, all was explained when this one turned out to be half cooked. Five minutes later a waitress turned up and inquired if everything was ok , I pointed out that I had returned food but no one seemed very interested and that was the end of that as far as I could see
When my daughter pointed out that her glass of orange juice was decorated with someones lipstick I merely noted that it complimented the sticky table top.
In fairness some of our party enjoyed their food but the management had no interest in finding out why some dishes were returned to the kitchen. Fine for a greasy spoon but I would expect better from a place that really knows how to charge for very average service and food. You would get a better deal at the Kentucky on Preston New Road.

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cat_woman says...
10:03pm Mon 7 May 12

I ate at the Clog for the first time this afternoon. We were a party of 11. The manager who greeted us was friendly enough, however the table wasn't ready so we had to loiter in the entrance way as there wasn't enough space in the bar.

The table was sticky, as were the menus. We were left for too long before a drinks order was taken, and also too long before taking the food order.

One drink arrived complete with lipstick mark of previous guest - ugh, a pet-hate of mine. How hard is it to make sure the glasses are cleaned properly?

There was a problem with the cider on draught, and no bottled cider, which meant that there was no cider available. The substituted pint of lager that was requested failed to materialise, adding insult to injury!

First impressions - not good, and this is before we even ordered our meals!

To be fair, the food was, on the whole, acceptable (I had the Lancashire Hotpot which was lovely, if a bit on the small side..) however, two members of our party ordered burgers which arrived undercooked and cold, and I have to say did not look very appealing.

There was a lack of proper customer service (if a meal is returned to the kitchen, the least I would expect is for the manager to come to the table to investigate and deal with the complaint, but this sadly did not happen.)

We were not charged for the returned meal, however that's not the point. I just felt they didn't really care as long as the bill was paid at the end.

Overall, taking into account the reputation of this establishment, and the price of the meals, I had an underwhelming and disappointing experience, and sadly would not recommend it.

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