The Potting Shed - a great village pub

A friendly country pub with excellent food

I had to travel to the Cotswolds for business this week and spent a night staying at a Best Western hotel in a small village called Crudwell just north of Malmesbury.

The hotel, Mayfield House, used to be a veterinary practice and belonged to the Pettifer family (Julian Pettifer, the TV journalist, spent his childhood there).  It is a coincidence that it used to be a vet's because I work in the veterinary industry! In fact the room where I had breakfast used to be the barn where they kept the animals..

It was a lovely sunny evening so I decided to stroll around the village to see if there was anywhere suitable for dinner.  Just further along the main street I came across The Potting Shed a very attractive pub and restaurant. Inside, it had a friendly atmosphere and there were plenty of people enjoying a drink and eating in the restaurant area.  I decided this was the place to stay so I ordered a glass of chilled white wine and took a look at the menu.

The Potting Shed pub at Crudwell

The menu isn't huge (a good sign in my book) but there is plenty of choice. There were nibbles, starters and about seven different main dishes on offer. Vegetarians are well catered for too I noticed.

I didn't want too much to eat and having seen some of the dishes being delivered to the table next to mine the portions were generous so I just ordered a main course.  A wagyu beefburger with home made tomato sauce, chunky chips and some salad leaves.  I fancied it because I had read a little about this Japanese beef, and wondered what it would taste like. It is known as the most expensive beef in the world, the cows are fed specially tailored diets and are slaughtered at three years, rather than our typical 18 months, so the flavour is more mature.

Inside The Potting Shed

It was pleasant sitting in the airy dining room, the staff were friendly and efficient and I can report that I did enjoy the beefburger, it had a rich taste and was juicy too.  The tomato sauce was delicious and perfect with the chunky chips...

I would recommend The Potting Shed not just for the food but also for the whole ambiance.

Wagyu beefburger

The Potting Shed

The sun was dipping low when I left the pub and there was a dramatic pattern of clouds and vapour trails in the sky above the hotel.

Cotswold sunset sky

Next time I'm in the area I'm pretty sure I will be calling into The Potting Shed again.

Useful links below:

The Potting Shed

Best Western Hotels