Black Jug

Bustling town pub with wide choice of drinks, efficient staff, well liked food

A very wide range of drinks at this well run Brunning & Price town pub features an impressive array of wines (with 35 by the glass), half a dozen real ales on handpump - Harveys Best and five guests such as Caledonian Deuchars, Greene King Ruddles, Scottish & Newcastle Courage Directors and Wickwar Porter - and around 100 malt whiskies, lots of gins, vodkas and rums, and farm cider. The one large open-plan, turn-of-the-century bar room has a large central bar, a nice collection of sizeable dark wood tables and comfortable chairs on a stripped wood floor, board games, and interesting old prints and photographs above a dark wood panelled dado on the cream walls. A spacious conservatory has similar furniture and lots of hanging baskets. The pretty flower-filled back terrace has plenty of garden furniture. The small car park is for staff and deliveries only but you can park next door in the council car park.

Interesting bar food includes sandwiches, pork pie ploughman's, crispy parma ham and mozarella salad, a charcuterie plate for two, smoked duck breast, grilled minute steak, spiced lamb couscous, chorizo and black pudding salad, grilled lamb rump, honey-roast duck breast, and mushroom and walnut stuffed pancakes; puddings like marmalade and treacle tart, chocolate cake and italian lemon trifle; cheeseboard served with quince jelly.