My first memories of pub food was chicken-in-a-basket at a pub near Clayton. That was 1976, food-in-a-basket was all the rage, and my dad furiously sent ours back because the chicken drumsticks were not merely raw, but still slightly frozen in the middle. Thankfully things have largely improved since then, but as you’ll see if you’ve read my report on the Brewers Fayre/Neville Crest & Gun Incident, not all pub food is worth eating, or indeed paying for.

I had all but given up on pub food… but I yearned for a decent roast that I didn’t have to cook, and served in a nice garden on a summer’s day where my kids would be welcome and the food would be worth eating and my one pint would be the best I’d had since the previous week, and everything would be suitably idyllic. But alas, this particular holy grail was elusive.

I’d passed by The Cock, and even photographed their slightly comedic sign by the main A26 embraced by the model I was photographing that day; but never given it a second thought. One Sunday, however, I was having one last ditch attempt at finding a decent Sunday lunch by lying in bed optimistically Googling on my laptop, hoping against hope that we could find something for that lunchtime. I found that The Cock came up a few times on peoples’ reviews on Beer in the Evening and so on, so we decided to call them up and ask if they’d have any availability. We were instantly impressed by the friendly response on the phone so off we trotted for a roast.

It was a good roast. The welcome was lovely too; some very friendly staff who stick around so they actually get to know the regulars, and the Ridley family themselves, who own and run this free house. The garden is large, well-kept, and lined with ancient fruit trees. In the summer it’s a lovely place to spend time. All good enough that we returned, over and over again. By and large we’ve never been disappointed either, and given that I have a reputation as Mr Picky, that’s saying something. OK, once the toast that came with my home-made chicken liver paté was stone cold, and I happen to like it warm – but it’s a minor criticism given how busy the kitchen must have been that summer’s day, and how far away our garden table was from the kitchen. At least when The Cock says “home-made”, you get proper home-made paté which tastes divine, not the “award winning” muck served up by Brewers Fayre.

There are lots of other home-made dishes on the menu too. In fact there are enough dishes on the main everyday menu at The Cock to keep most people happy no matter what your taste, dietary requirements, budget or appetite. You can have a simple dish like gammon, eggs & chips; or cod, chips & peas; and what you’ll get is freshly cooked with care using good quality ingredients. You can have traditional favourites like steak & ale pie served with mashed potatoes & veg, and you’ll get a big wedge of a home-made pie stacked with tender tasty meat, with good smooth mash and veg that are neither stewed nor raw, but most probably perfect. Their steaks are excellent quality too, very tender, and cooked by someone who knows what they’re doing with a steak – which let’s face it is so very simple that it’s incredibly easy to… er… cock up (no pun intended).

Further house specialities include Val’s Purse (named after Mrs Ridley herself) – a sirloin steak stuffed with Blue Stilton and served with a creamy sauce. The dish itself is delicious, but I’m never going to accept payments in small change from Val. This Christmas there’s a special menu including another stuffed sirloin steak dish named Ian’s Pocket, this time stuffed with prawns and brie and wrapped in parma ham. I wonder when their son Matt is going to have his own dish, but the mind boggles as to which cavity it’ll be named after.

Back to the plot. The Cock Inn is a fine establishment run by a wonderful warm friendly family and their excellent staff. Even dogs and children get a warm welcome, so neither is left out in the cold with just a bowl of water, and the former even get free chews (and possibly the latter, though they might prefer some pork scratchings or crisps). Anyway, I’d highly recommend The Cock as a good place to visit, for eating, drinking and enjoying year-round. Booking advisable for Saturday evenings, Sunday lunchtimes and peak times of year such as Christmas.

Read more at www.cockpub.co.uk

February 2009 update: Oh, and they liked my write-up so much, they got me to create a brand new web site for them, along with loads of food photos taken by yours truly on-site during normal serving hours… go & take a look!