The George & Dragon, Rowde Review

Overall Rating

Wide-ranging menu with a large selection of fish.
The pub is very characterful & offers good beer (I tried the Butcombe Bitter)

Extremey over-priced for Dinner
Wine v pricey
No extras included -
Tap water not iced

We recently ate at The George and Dragon based on positive reviews from other guides.
For a venue which charges such at this level (most starters from £8.50 & main courses about £16) we expected a better level of service & presentation than was actually delivered.
We skipped starter & chose mains of Monkfish in Parma ham & a lamb stew. The restaurant was completely empty apart from us & these arrived very promptly along with Fresh vegetables.
The lack of other customers meant there was no ambience in the restaurant (this at 8pm on a Saturday) & indeed there were virtually no customers in the bar either (driven away by high prices?).
Our drink & food orders were taken by the same gent who may have been a manager. He also served the meals to our table. I may be fussy, but I would prefer a little more presentation than that delivered by someone in scruffy jeans.
The Wine Selection seemed reasonable & also seemed to include a number of whites chosen to complement fish. Bottles started from £14 with most around £18- £24. I would have chosen a half-bottle of Sauvignon Blanc if this had not cost £14.
I stayed with the Butcombe Bitter - which I can recommend.
Puddings were all around £6 - but if you prefer cheese & biscuits , please note that you only get a choice of one cheese for that. If you wanted a selection of cheeses, that would be £8.50 which I felt was too steep.
I chose the sticky toffee pudding, which when it arrived also included walnuts which were not mentioned on the menu. That didn't worry me - but could be important for someone with an allergy or who doesn't like walnuts. My wife chose the selection of Chocolate roulades which looked attractive, but were unfortunately weren't cooked to out liking.
2 courses for 2 people including drinks came to £53.70.
You could easily spend £100 including wine.
I feel that the pub is over-priced for the region & does not deliver a level of service or occasion that would justify the pricing.