Food critic Robbie Thompson has delivered a mixed review of Jeremy Clarkson's Cotswolds pub, The Farmer's Dog, awarding it a score of 6.5 out of 10. While praising the venue as a 'little slice of English heaven,' he criticised the menu as 'uninspiring' and noted that the gravy on his main course was served cold.
First Impressions of the Venue
Thompson, who shares content as @streetfoodanalysis on TikTok, admitted he 'missed all the hype' when the pub opened in 2024 but declared his belated visit was 'better late than never.' He settled onto the pub's 'gorgeous' terrace overlooking the beer garden on a sunny day, with customers enjoying drinks under parasols and the rolling Cotswolds landscape stretching beyond. He described it as a 'little slice of English heaven' while sipping a pint of Hawkstone lager, from Clarkson's own brand, and a glass of cloudy apple juice.
Starter and Main Course
His starter consisted of cold-smoked Bibury trout with horseradish cream and sourdough bread. Thompson called the trout 'excellent' though the horseradish was 'very mild.' He characterised the dish as 'absolutely fantastic,' commending the 'beautiful ingredients.'
For his main course, he ordered Cotswolds sausage served with mash, roasted carrot, seasonal greens, caramelised onions, and gravy. He labelled the sausage 'fantastic' and described a forkful of sausage, onion, gravy, and mash as a 'proper British bite.' However, he noted the gravy was cold. 'Honestly, this is all about those sausages. They're absolutely fantastic. Meaty, real quality, real flavour. Just a bit of a shame with the gravy. There's not much to it. It's a little bit cold, as I said, and there's not much flavour to it. Aside from that, the ingredients are fantastic,' he said.
Dessert and Pricing
Examining the dessert menu, Thompson remarked there wasn't 'much choice.' Options included a raspberry, honey, and oat tart; rhubarb crumble cake; two types of cheeseboard; ice cream; and sorbet. He found the selection not particularly 'inspiring,' suggesting classic British dishes like Victoria sponge, Eton mess, sticky toffee pudding, or Bakewell tart would be more fitting.
He chose the rhubarb crumble cake but was unimpressed with the 'tiny' serving of ice cream. The cake itself was 'lovely and moist' despite an alleged lack of rhubarb flavour.
Thompson itemised his meal costs: £7 for the pint of Hawkstone, £3.40 for the apple juice, £12.50 for the trout starter, £22 for the sausage main, and £12 for the dessert.
Overall Verdict
Summarising his experience, Thompson said: 'The plus point was this amazing venue. I absolutely loved the views. I love the beer garden and I love that terrace. But aside from that, yes, there was some quality in the ingredients throughout those three courses. But overall, it was very uninspiring for me. I just felt like, "Make the whole menu British." Make all the courses British. You've only got five or six dishes on each course. Make them all British. Make it more inspiring. Two choices of desserts. I understand it's seasonal ingredients and that's what it's about, but just be a little bit more inspiring with it. It was quite expensive as well. Beyond that, the service I thought was very, very good. Very young group of servers that were all absolutely fantastic. Overall, my score for The Farmer's Dog, I think that is a 6.5 out of 10. There were some great points there, but it just wasn't inspiring enough, and the execution for me wasn't quite there. I really, really, really wanted to love it, especially when I got here, and I was like, "Wow, this is amazing." But the food, it didn't quite live up to it.'
