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Navigation Inn
Bridge Road
Stoke Bruerne
Northamptonshire
NN12 7SD
Tel: 01604 864988
This Sunday took the Muller-Gough family out to Stoke Bruerne, a small village in Northamptonshire along the Grand Union Canal. There were a few of us, since this was a family do; Mum & Dad, my brother and sister and their partners/children.
This pub/restaurant was suggested by my brother as a good place to eat, child friendly and close to the canal museum et al, all of which is a growing tourist spot.
We got there early, since it was a lovely day, and we expected it to be busy. Disappointingly, the pub was not open at 11am when we arrived, not because we are a boozy lot, but several of the party needed a wee!
We decided to walk to find suitable resources and returned bagging a nice couple of tables in the sunshine.
The kids were well occupied with the large "pirate ship" aparatus, and cries of "I’ll get ye Jack Sparrow" were heard indicating fun was occuring.
On to the food. There is a large menu selection, and plenty on the specials board. All the usuals from lasagne to steak, with some nice options of lamb shoulder, trio of chops, and the usual token ethnic curries.
I went for the Cajun Chicken, and others had a variety of the other dishes, including garlic bread and stuff.
Now then – queues – expect queues, especially if it’s a nice day. After my sister had placed our largish order, the queue behind her had grown exponentially.
I’d managed to get the first round of drinks in without much hassle, but the second round saw me in a queue. Of about 20. I’ve never queued for drink in a pub before, and this really just shows the English mentality for forming orderly queues wherever possible.
Dinner arrived – 40 mins after the order – it was good though, no complaints from anyone. Cajun chicken was – cajun chicken really, well cooked, nicely spiced and with tomato salsa, salad and chips. All good…..meanwhile the queues grew.
Another jaunt into the pub for a toilet break brough the scene of two gigantic queues ; one for food, one for drinks. It seems, and I overheard someone having a conversation exactly as I was thinking the same thing, this place has far to many tables for the amount of food they can possibly cook.
Still, value was good, food was edible, and if you’re in a sort of lazy English country sort of mood, the queues will not bother you too much.
This place is probably excellent when it’s raining.
