The Fighting Cocks
REVIEWS
review by Janine Pulford
Surprisingly, it only took about 18 minutes to get to The Fighting Cocks from our home in West Moors and the pub, located in the New Forest at Godshill is a mere four minutes drive from Fordingbridge.
Tim and Kay Eyre took over in 2001 and have improved the pub with an extension, children’s play area and stunning murals on the walls by a local artist. A master butcher by trade, and Lyndhurst man by birth, Tim keeps a tidy kitchen and takes pride in making his own sausages, burgers and faggots and even cooks his own ham.
He prepares much of the food, along with Jim, who has worked at the Fighting Cocks for 10 years and “is a huge asset to the business” according to Tim.
As well as an extensive chalkboard with vegetarian, gluten free, small portions and a Good Elf choice (tell you later), there are menus on the table too.
After checking out the variety, I surprised myself by ordering the Duo of Tim’s faggots with mash, onion gravy and peas as I usually choose fish or vegetarian meals. I had noticed huge portions of food coming out of the kitchen, so I asked Tim to reduce my duo to a single faggot, which he did.
I must sing the praise of the faggot. It was huge, meaty and tasty, and when eaten with the gravy, potatoes and peas, quite delicious. Nick said he found the flavour strong, but he tasted it without the accompaniments, so it wasn’t a true reflection of the dish. Not only that, he kept taking more, so he obviously liked it. The mash was so dense it could be sliced, yet it was exceptionally smooth.
Nick wolfed down his Prime chicken breast stroganoff with white rice, which tickled me because I didn’t know he liked mushrooms, and I watched in wonder as the whole lot vanished. No doubt the button-size fungi imparted a different flavour to the ones I use at home.
Desserts were Belgian waffle with ice cream, strawberries and strawberry sauce and Baileys and coffee cheesecake. Both were enormous. The cheesecake was possibly a stage too far for me, but at least it was balanced with a walk in the beautiful New Forest after dinner.
The pub, as you can imagine, is extremely popular with New Forest visitors as it provides wholesome food and has four ales and scrumpy cider on tap. My Cawston gooseberry crush was a sparkling treat with my meal.
The outdoor area alone seats 200 people and overlooks a large green frequented by ponies.
The acre of car park easily accommodates coaches and also plays host to many car clubs. Two can dine for £17 on a Wednesday; there are OAP specials and for those on a diet, the Good Elf, which is almost always available, is based on a sin-free Slimming World dish.
There’s something for everyone in fact. Booking at weekends is recommended.
