Cow and Plough in Harborough

Thought we'd give this place another shot after 2 years, terrible decision, even worse than last time! Despite confirming the food to come altogether, meals from 1 kitchen came together, then after being told 5 minutes for the pizza (fine) then again 10 minutes after, just a few more minutes, 2 pizzas arrived 30 minutes later!!! 3 of the party had already completed their meals, 3 of of the remaining party were still waiting for their food. Only when I asked why the pizzas took so long was I informed there was a problem with the oven. There was no attempt to let us know this beforehand!! Things go wrong, we could've ordered something else. Also not sure how the kitchen think 3 burnt yorkshires is acceptable to dish out.. A terrible experience overall, will not be returning. Prices are quite high for the quality and quantity of food you receive which isn't the end of the world, however you expect good food and good service to go hand in hand, this certainly wasn't the case. I would just add that when the pizza finally arrived, it was piping hot and tasted pretty good. But the experience just left a bitter taste in our mouths, quite disappointing

Never been disappointed with a meal here - 2 pies for £25 on Thursday nights, what’s not to like? And treacle tart and sticky toffee pudding on the desserts menu! Service is always excellent - Georgia was our main waitress last night, as she has been before, and she’s always friendly and helpful. Just a really enjoyable evening all round.

Llegó para el cumpleaños de mi marido con la familia, 14 de nosotros en total diez adultos y cuatro niños entre 6 y 12 y el personal tenía una mesa adecuada y ajustó el menú para adaptarse a los más pequeños. Estábamos atentos a las solicitudes de salsa y salsas adicionales, una experiencia muy buena y el servicio en la mesa y el bar genial, nadie estaba esperando a que saliera la red principal, lo que permitió una gran experiencia de comida conjunta. Recomiendo encarecidamente y las tiendas adicionales y área de juegos y granja de animales sumado a la experiencia y la opción de una pizza recién cocinada al aire libre para llevar por la noche fue un placer agradable.

I went the other week and I was disappointed at how the waitresses spoke to us. Also the service was slow.

Had a lovely day out with a party of seven food was good and the staff were excellent 👌🏾

Food is always great here. Friendly staff and good portion size.

Great ambience, food and service

We had lunch here yesterday and we loved the place, the decor was a really nice, as was the atmosphere and very quirky. The staff were really friendly and helpful. The food was really nice. However there was one thing that let it down a bit which is the reason I haven't given it 5 stars. We ate off their lunchtime lite bite menu and paid £8 each for 3 Welsh rarebits and chilli chicken. We knew it wouldn't be a huge meal as that's not what we wanted, however, we were really disappointed with the size of the meal for the price we paid. The Welsh rarebits were one small slice of toast. No side garnish or 2 slices, just 1 slice of toast on the plate. And the chilli chicken was just 4 chicken wing size chicken. Don't get me wrong, it was lovely but we have ordered off other light bite menus at other places and therefor was surprised when the food came out. I felt they shouldn't advertise it as a light bite, as for a lot of places you get more with a starter for less money. It hasn't stopped us wanting to return, but we have learnt our lesson on portion sizes and just wanted to make others aware that if you want a light bite to be aware that it is quite expensive for what you actually get. But please don't let you put my review off as it is a lovely place and the food is nice.

Lovely meal here and friendly staff. We stopped 1 night in the glamping pods on site and would definitely recommend coming again

Really enjoyed my lunch at this lovely pub today. Aubergine parmigiana is absolutely delicious. Such polite and friendly service. Plenty of parking. Worth a visit!!

Really enjoyed my lunch at this lovely pub today. Aubergine parmigiana is absolutely delicious. Such polite and friendly service. Plenty of parking. Worth a visit!!

We got here just after 11am so it was pretty quiet but it didn't take long for a few more people to arrive there's a lot to see and do and we really enjoyed the time that we were there!

We got here just after 11am so it was pretty quiet but it didn't take long for a few more people to arrive there's a lot to see and do and we really enjoyed the time that we were there!

Reservamos vaina de búho granero con bañera de hidromasaje, por una noche. Fabuloso. Gran cama cómoda, bañera de hidromasaje estaba limpio y caliente, . Tuvimos comida en el pub que era encantador, solo un corto paseo de la cápsula. Sin duda recomendaría alojarse aquí.

Una parada a medio camino en nuestra ruta. Preciosa zona de Oadby, fantásticas residencias en Gartree Road donde se puede encontrar el pub situado muy lejos de la carretera principal (nos llevó 3 coches para encontrarlo). La cerveza Billy es una de las mejores cervezas que la señora P y yo hemos probado, muy suave. Hay algunos baños y lavabos peculiares tanto en los caballeros como en las damas. El pub es parte de un complejo que incluye un parque agrícola y tienda, varias atracciones para niños, tiendas de regalos y una cafetería. Recommended

Lovely peaceful place to relax. Nice decor with friendly staff. We have not tried the food yet.

Nice pub with a friendly atmosphere, Service was quick and the cask ales were well kept. What's there not to like?

My wife and I spent two days in our camper van at the Cow & Plough. The whole set up from the bar, restaurant, farm shop and farm small holding walk was first class. Day one we had a great evening meal whilst watching England beat Holland in the Euros. Day two was a lovely coffee followed by a walk round the land to meet a multitude of domestic and farm animals. Lunch was a freshly baked wood fired pizza which really did hit the spot. Thanks to the Management and Staff for a fantastic stay…We will be back!!

Wow 🤩 me encanta este lugar! Christian qué buen chico, muy bienvenido en una visita nocturna britstop en nuestra autocaravana, tienda de granja, lago, granja Animales para ver, y está el pub y el jardín del pub! Mezclado con comida fantástica, este es un día fantástico o estancia de una noche, absolutamente gran lugar con paseos y bares de ginebra escondidos es solo fuera del mundo 🌍 bien hecho mantenerlo 👍 nos hizo sentir muy bienvenido el personal tan agradable. Andrew y Tracey 🤘🇬🇧

Amazing food Amazing experience

Great pub with a good range of beers

Booked a table for five, three adults and two toddlers. Was greeted by a miserable stone faced woman we thought her service would get better but she had a stone face through the whole lunch. Basic customer service was lacking and any request seemed like a chute for her. She would be more suited to stacking shelves or a data entry job that doesn't involve any interactions with people. She has zero people skills and made everyone feel uncomfortable with her bad attitude and stone face. Two other younger waitresses where nice and friendly we prefers to interact with them. Even the bill was too difficult of a task for this one girl to attend to that we had to get up and walk to the bar to pay. I don't understand why a business would risk havening such a miserable person at the front of house she seemed to have made other diners feel uncomfortable too.

Lovely place to go with friends and family

One of the better places in Oadby for a drink, food and modern decor.

Didn't even get to the food! Attitude of the server extremely poor. On to friendlier parts.

Great food. Service staff were super. Lots of choice for food.

We’ve always had good experiences in this pub so hopefully today was just a one off. My fish was tiny , overcooked and inedible. My friend had the beef roast dinner and it was so flooded with gravy that it spilled over the side of the plate when she started eating. Everything was drowned in it to the point that all the vegetables were unidentifiable. Desserts were small and served without cutlery or napkins. Service was on the indifferent side of ‘ok’. We mentioned our concerns with our mains and given apologies from the server but were still charged full price for everything. We’ll have to find another venue for our Sunday catch-ups.

Lovely place let down by over-priced fish and chips , the chip's were soggy and moderately warm,the fish was not white and flaky but more like frozen brownish fish with greasy batter.

Great recommendation from a family member for our visit to Leicester. Loved the interior. The food was excellent. Nicely presented and a decent sized portion. Can recommend the Billy burger and the pork chop from the specials board.

Some great Ales 🍺 for me and cocktails for my wife, could it get any better? Yes, we had a nice Fillet Steak 🥩 and a Ribeye steak 🥩, and we can thoroughly recommend as they had great hospitality & we could park our motorhome in the large car park overnight as long as we ate & drank , not a problem ❤️👍

Good quality, expertly cooked food and alcohol with friendly staff. Recommended.

We'd had a busy day so decided we'd try the pizza at the Cow and Plough instead of cooking. The menu isn't extensive, particularly if you are vegetarian, but that's fine if the quality is good. But it wasn't. The bill was steep, the service was indifferent, the pizza was take-away quality. We're unlikely to eat there again.

Nice pud located in the farm with great choice of beers. We had the pizza from the wood fire pizza hut outside. The flavour was nice but the pizza was undercooked. Just need to get more heat in that stone to get the pizza cooked properly on the bottom. Update: I visited again and ordered a pizza again. This time it was fully cooked and the bottom had a nice chare to it. The amount of grated mozzarella is a bit over the top to the point it was pooled in the middle of the pizza. I'd definitely say it was an improvement in certain areas compared to the first visit but still not on par with other pizzas available in Leicester.

Awful Sunday lunch Meat was so full of fat could eat it ! Sour gravy and congealed on plate when it arrived

We booked on line, when we arrived staff to busy to even acknowledge we were there. Eventually told " so busy have a party of 12, but you can have a pizza" Not a pleasant place to be.

Easily one of the best Sunday roast’s about! The roast beef is my go to and it’s never disappointed. Remember to bang on a side of cauliflower cheese too! High quality, fresh local ingredients (including some grown on site, I believe). Good selection of beers too - the recent(ish) addition of Steeplechase is appreciated! 👍

Cosy pub which serves food. Be sure to visit when the pub quiz is on!

We had a lovely Vegetarian Sunday lunch here with the Wellbeing Assistance Dogs. Great service & food. It was our second time & we'll be back again.

A really disappointing visit. The food was okay, not as bad as the owner said it was. I was sat with my back to the serving hatch when I heard shouting and swearing about the food - “it’s f***ing s***!”. After a few anxious minutes a waitress told us it was just joke with the chef. We explained to the waitress that we didn’t find it funny, mainly as we had a child with learning difficulties with us who didn’t understand what was happening. Despite the waitress telling the man who had been shouting about our complaint no apology was made. As we were leaving, a waitress blanked us and we saw the man sitting with the manager. It turns out he is the owner! A simple apology would have been good and I wouldn’t have posted here. A bizarre way for Steaming Billy to run their business, we won’t be returning.

Popped in for a coffee ☕️ and a pint

We have been eating at this restaurant regularly for a couple of months however when we visited on 10. 02.24 we experienced the following. The owner stood in the middle of the eating area next to us and shouted at the kitchen staff through the open serving area that his food was f**king sh*t, he then repeated those words. Our waitress told us he was only joking however we explained we didn't find listening to that language very funny and that it had upset our daughter who has learning disabilities. Our waitress did tell the owner we were upset but he just walked off. We were then ignored for the rest of our meal until we asked for the bill which then had added incorrect drinks on it. We felt so intimidated we left without saying anything further but did call the pub when we got home and spoke to the manager who said he would look into the matter and get back to us. We haven't heard anything since, this was 2 weeks ago. We can only assume that as we received no apology on the night or since that this pub thinks that this behaviour is acceptable, we don't so clearly won't be returning. It must be nice to be in a position where a business can turn customers away. We will return to the Ashby Arms in Hungarton which is excellent.

2nd time I've been food very nice very hot and presented beautifully as new non drinker was disappointed at the lack of non alcoholic wine/processco some restaurants I've been to have the small bottles so places don't have to crack open bottle for one glass maybe this could be organised as not every non drinker wants 0%beer or coke

Disappointed after our last meal there in 2023,poor selection of food,much better on previous visit,overpriced,service good pleasant staff,is it now gastropub food not a Restaurant as before,need to up the game,might be back if things improve .

Sunday lunch small potions on veg

Lovely family meal. Service was great and the pizza was delicious. Can’t believe we’ve never been before! We’ll definitely be returning.

Lovely old feel pub, warm, cosy and very quaint.

Lovely food. Excellent service. Only let down was that it was very quiet.

Another great weekend at the Cow & Plough. We were in the area for rugby and like to stay at Oadby. The Cow & Plough is a lovely, well looked after bar/restaurant. The site also has a farm shop, small businesses including craft, beauty, gift and children's play areas. The food here is lovely, the gluten free carbonara is tasty and the portions are generous. Hubby had the thai fish curry which he said was the best curry he has had anywhere. Plenty of choice at the bar from draught ales to gins, vodkas and more. The locals are always friendly, especially on rugby days. We will be back, Thanks

some of the staff nice however there one staff waitress in particular had no smile on her face , rude rushing us to order as soon as we sat down and without even getting a chance to look at the menu. when we mentioned to give us 5 mins to look at the menu we were told kitchen shutting in 5 mins. very forceful in taking our orders. wouldn’t go again even though this was our first time at the pub

Was not told that cash ( coin of the realm) Was not accepted very poor show greed before service please don’t patronise any establishment that refuses cash

A really excellent pub. Good real ales with friendly service. Comfortable place for food and drinks.

The set menu wasn't worth the money at all, the staff were polite and helpful, would not return at this time of year for the set menu

Went for breakfast...nothing plated on offer, only cobs. Nice bacon/egg, but cheapest quality sausages & bread despite being inside a 'deli'. Long delays in service, and top price for average food. Also looked at the main pub menu...Wow, the prices!! £19 for fish & chips??? They are really taking the mickey.

Visited here as we were keen to try some game! The latest menu has taken these options off. Lovely cod scampi to start, the Billy pie was nice. The pork belly was good but not rendered enough to my liking. Just a few elements that confused us, even though we queried it. The veg dauphinoise is not a typo and is not potato. The black pudding is not separate, but mashed in the potato (it makes the texture lumpy). Other than that, i would try and again as it’s quirky and does appear to try new things. Location is on an old grange, with the farm next door amongst various other businesses. Plenty of parking and about 10 minutes away from the city centre.

Started coming here 20 years or so and it's had peaks and less so good periods. This does your standard pub-grub and pizzas [latter looked decent on the next table!] I had coffee [£4] and then fish and chips. Food was good but the oil definitely needed changing and there was an off taste to the very very chunky chips. I'd 3 star here but the fish was OK. Decent peas and tartae though. Nice atmosphere 👌 Fires and gentle chats going on. Service was very good though! 👍 thanks. This now has farm shops and I didn't go in but this is becoming a top place to visit in that regard and I look forward to coming back.

Great place for lunch with the dogs

The whole site is worth a visit. I previously used the bar; restaurant and more recently, the shop. Food is good value in the restaurant.

The steak and ale pie was delicious, I wish my venison and rabbit casserole was bigger because I enjoyed it. I was still hungry after that but it came with half a kilo of white bread. The cheesecake dessert was a little bit disappointing. It's expensive but the atmosphere is cosy and calm, and the quality of the ingredients in our mains was good.

Comida típica británica y ambiente típico británico. Lo pasamos muy bien

Fantastic place to stay. Really comfortable, cosy and homely. Owners are really friendly and cannot do enough for you. Breakfast amazing and delicious. Take it from a family of 4 who have stayed 4 times now and will be more. Evening meals and Carvery also fantastic. Lovely atmosphere 👌

Loved it all. Waitresses were brilliant. Thanks Ben we all had a great time.

The food was very good, and the service was fantastic. The tall blonde guy with glasses provided excellent service in particular. Would definitely come again and recommend to other people

Another great weekend at the Cow & Plough. We were in the area for rugby and like to stay at Oadby. The Cow & Plough is a lovely, well looked after bar/restaurant. The site also has a farm shop, small businesses including craft, beauty, gift and children's play areas. The food here is lovely, the gluten free carbonara is tasty and the portions are generous. Hubby had the thai fish curry which he said was the best curry he has had anywhere. Plenty of choice at the bar from draught ales to gins, vodkas and more. The locals are always friendly, especially on rugby days. We will be back, Thanks

Great pizza! 🍕 eaten off the main menu before and it’s very good pub food. Wide range of drinks including several good alcohol free options!

We had a great Sunday lunch here with each of us having beef, lamb and pork. Very quick, tasty with lovely cauliflower cheese. Not living here and coming up to take the child out for lunch (Uni) it was a great discovery. Will go again and we took the dog. Very polite and helpful team

Friendly staff, nicely decorated place. Food was very good, really enjoyable lunch, Sea Bass was very tasty . Recommended.

What a shame 😔 Once upon a time this used to be a good pub where you could get a good pint and was a good atmosphere, unfortunately all that has changed now. I'm not even sure it's still a "Steamin Billy" pub. Two light ales weighing in at £12.20 it's safe to say I will not be coming back to this bar. Card only 👎 Rubbish crowd in there now, everyone else priced out.

I am now finding the recipe for Broad Bean Mash after eating here this evening. The servers were lovely and the food was really good. Will become a new favourite I think

Disappointing menu. Same for lunch and dinner.

Great pub , very nice atmosphere

Lovely pub with very friendly service and amazing roast dinners. Called in early in the hope of a table and they were able to fit us in which was great, generous sized roast dinner but still managed to fit in the Nutella bread and butter pudding - totally worth squeezing in !!

No atmosphere at all, on top of which we had a couple with a baby next to us and the mother was breastfeeding the baby at the table while we were having lunch, not very nice!

Lovely place to meet eat and drink. Very friendly staff and obliged in us by tweaking bits of our chosen dishes to suit our preference. Attentive throughout. Very good size portions which I couldn't manage but they kindly provided a take away tray. Spacious comfortable seating arrangements. Plenty of car parking. A comfortable relaxed atmosphere, was music but not too loud so we could still have good conversation Definitely would go back.

Appalling, discriminatory and racist behavior. Didn't stick around for the food.

Fancy seeing racism at its finest...we are a family of 6, who were dropping our daughter off this afternoon. We decided to get lunch, before heading home and saw (what we thought was a friendly pub) When we arrived we were asked if we had a booking-which we didn't, the waitress then said we have alot of reservations and afternoon tea booked in, even though there were multiple empty tables-which could of easily accommodated us, the waitress then said you can sit around the corner in the back (which was the smoking room, it was dark and dingy), she did not walk us around and only gave 3 menus-even though there was 6 of us. It was very separate from the main pub and no-one eles was sitting in there. We decided not to eat there-however upon leaving, a white family of 4 entered the pub,asked for a table, were told hold-on they moved somethings around! Then they were seated! We asked for the manager, explained what happened-he then laughed through shame, and stated they always ask for bookings- which they clearly do not. We told the manager this was very disappointing and not a good impression of what they consider a posh pub.

Been a few times. Good food and the atmosphere is great. I would say it is a little pricey and it could do with aircon for those warmer days

Called in for birthday pizza or two....delicious!

Wonderful food homemade chicken Kiev was absolutely delicious

My partners 50th birthday lunch was a big success at the Cow and Plough. There were 14 of us so we had to pre order which was fine and everything we ate was enjoyable with decent portions - only the spicy linguine failed to hit the spot. Service was friendly and efficient and we did not feel rushed. The damage £500 for 2 courses each + drinks excluding service. Good value - we would happily go here again.

Six of us came for Sunday Lunch and couldn’t have enjoyed it more! Staff were friendly and efficient; environment was comfortable and attractive with a great atmosphere and the food was delicious! Can’t recommend The Cow & Plough highly enough and we’ll definitely be back!

A really nice pub to spend time. Pizza and beer was fantastic.

First visit and was amazing, will defo be going back

We always go to the shop to get some icecream, thought we'd give the restaurant a go, can happily say that it wasn't a disappointment. Girlfriend had the seabass which was so good, Sirloin cooked too how I wanted it peppercorn sauce was lovely. Would definitely recommend for a meal in if your close by.

Good service & grub despite being busy.

Arrived hungry after driving home from Norfolk, booked in for a 3pm Sunday lunch. The generous portioned roast was excellent- one roast pork loin & one 3 meats roast, great quality meat & beautifully cooked, both served with good roasties, Yorkshire pud. & roast veg, plus a side of cauliflower cheese. Good gravy too. Compliments to the chef & his team. Desserts very good too, lemon tart with clotted cream & good quality icecream. Will recommend & definitely return soon!👍

Ridiculous service. We were asked to pay a deposit but then they couldn't refund this by the bill. Made the experience painful. Won't be coming again.

We visited with friends yesterday had to wait a long while to be offered a drink. The white wine arrived. Warm, no ice bucket. Waited a long while to be asked what food we wanted. To be fair, the food was very good but that...

Had the Thai fish curry and my partner had the fish and chips, both were delicious and very good portion sizes. Fantastic service, warm and welcoming.

Fantastic food, great service and a lovely setting. Thank you for a great Sunday lunch!

Came for lunch got a drink at the bar took a menu went to sit down Tried to get done one’s attention numerous times one member of staff too interested in eating her chips than taking our order, didn’t finish my drink paid for drink...

Me and the kids came here today to eat food after we finished at Lollipops Pottery Painting. It was pretty good x

There's a lot on offer here: wood-fired pizzas, a cosy bar, a bar area for food, and a more formal restaurant area. Of course there's also outdoor seating and dog friendly areas. Accordingly it's a busy place and booking is definitely recommended. Service is pretty good, although it can be slow. We've been recently for dinner and afternoon tea and on each occasion found the veggie options were there, but not great. If you eat meat, I bet you would have loved it! So, depending on your diet, this will be either fantastic or average.

What a place hidden away and one of the best places to go in Leicester. please take your family there and you will be so happy.loved this place.going soon

Lovely food bit pricey but worth it.

Afternoon tea: Overall an okay experience. Food was nice and the scones were delicious however… We had 2 children with us and we rang in advance to ask if the kids could eat from the kids menu which they said was perfectly fine. But on the day, they rang to tell us they don’t serve food at 3pm so it wouldn’t be possible to have the kids menu. Only because we had paid for the afternoon tea in advance (which is required when booking) that they were able to compromise by allowing us to come earlier. But the afternoon tea still wasn’t served until 3pm, only the kids food. Service could have been better. What was disappointing was they served for food before the tea. And we had to ask for the tea. There was no tea menu. They girls serving us didn’t know what tea was available. The worst part was as we were leaving we saw them setting up for the next afternoon tea booking and the teacups, plates and milk were all ready for them but not for us. After having been to afternoon tea at other places, this doesn’t really compare. If you’re going to serve afternoon tea, ensure it’s actually the service you expect from traditional afternoon tea. Wouldn’t recommend and would suggest paying a bit more and going elsewhere.

Called for Sunday lunch to sample the revamped pub and restaurant, staff were very pleasant and efficient, the area surrounding the pub has altered considerably mainly by the big housing estate built over the road losing the rural peace of the original pub. The pub...

My father died recently and we were looking for a venue for the wake . The Cow and Plough was perfect we were able to use the two rooms of the Vault and as such a lovely sunny day sit out to reminisce his life...

Came here with the kids and the place was empty. Only 3 tables inside and out taken. So we asked for a table for 6. The girl said no they were fully booked. I questioned how many tables were empty she said they all had...

We left feeling very disappointed. We were really looking forward to eating here after looking at the menu. Unfortunately the meal was below standard. I have had better frozen ready meals to be honest. Sadly the management and staff were argumentative and unhelpful.

Really nice place, very family and dog friendly. The only thing lacking was that there were absolutely no proper meal option that was both vegetarian and gluten free (my wife had a side of chips + side of broccoli as her lunch). Other than that it was great and we usually only go for drinks so know in future to get food elsewhere for our group.