The Pilgrim in Aylesbury Vale

Nice garden. Come on Friday afternoon

First time here won't be my last great local food

Unpretentious successful village pub open Wednesday to Sunday set back from the High Street in a well kept building, inside well proportioned with a wood burner and a lot of wooden beams. Has a pub mention in the Michelin Guide and has proven itself for tasty generous sharing portions. Well kept ales and no problem parking. Recommended.

Second time eating here and didn’t disappoint. Lovely pub, friendly staff, and great vegetarian options.

Always fantastic food and great service.

What can we say, the best meal we’ve had in some while? It was truly perfection, and for people who can almost always pick fault that’s saying something! It’s not fancy, it’s just great produce cooked brilliantly - taste explosions with every dish. We liked the sharing aspect, for greedy people like us it’s great to try multiple dishes and unusually the sweets were just as good as the savoury dishes, melt in the mouth good. There’s no pretence here, it’s a local pub, frequented by locals, friendly, down to earth and brilliant value - we can’t recommend highly enough

Lovely food, great service, wonderful selection of drinks and a lovely pub garden. Definitely recommend!

Limited pub menu only. Food and pub were nice and everyone friendly.

The perfect place for the perfect pint. What a lovely place, very friendly, the heart of the community. Just as it should be. Very refreshing to see a proper pub thriving, well done!

This place serves fantastic food. The Nudja mussels were truly amazing, and I never would have put those flavours together but they were magnificent. The Sunday Roast Rib eye was also sensational, and I generally find it is rare to enjoy a Sunday dinner out as always something lets it down. This was truly on the money and we had the leanest Ribeye ever. Horse raddish was delicious and not over powering. The Yorkshire pudding was something the minute you set eyes on you were happy and you knew the meal would be 10 out of 10. The service was really nice and engaging. The bill was really reasonable too.

This is certainly a great find as a restaurant pub. Set in quite a pretty village it does have an entry in the Michelin guide for the food and it is easy to see why. We booked for Sunday lunch at 13:00 and expected the place to be very busy, it wasn't. However, over the two and a half hours we were there it filled up without becoming too full to enjoy. There are not that many covers, I counted about 20 but I didn't look round everywhere in the pub. There is also quite a large area with seats to lounge in and have a drink. They do have some snacks at the bar but it seemed to be mainly chips and bread from what I could see. They have a small but nice selection of real beer and cider which they were happy to provide a taste of. The wine list looked quite standard fare but nothing to be excited about. The food is a different matter. The selection for Sunday lunch was small but covered all the bases, beef, lamb, sea bass and vegetarian cottage pie. The starters provided a similar small but excellent selection. Between us we covered the ham hock turine and mushrooms on toast. Both excellent and quite filling. Other than the one vegetarian we all plumped for the beef. It was rib eye and very well cooked and rested. One of the party thought it looked a bit rare but they still managed to finish it. Roast potatoes were also excellent and I liked the carrots though one of the party thought they were too sweet. We were all too full for any desert. All in all a great meal in a friendly pub restaurant. We also spotted there was a beer garden that looked very good. Probably makes this place packed on a summer weekend. On the list to go back to when in the area.

The nicest meal I’ve had in a while. Staff are very welcoming too. Definitely going back.

The best Sunday roast I’ve ever had.

Sunday lunch was delicious. U won't go wrong picking here for a meal

Excellent all round - fabulous venue - great food- staff and management were great. Brilliant venue for Sunday lunch. Best to go on a day when Andy is not there 😉

Went to this lovely place beers are good food is amazing great staff atmosphere and service . It’s a 10 from me

Perfect for our extended family Sunday lunch, great cozy private dining space. Lovely pub, great food and friendly staff. Highly recommend

Great night out, friendly pub. I recommend the open mic 🎙️ every 2nd Wednesday of the month. Check out other midweek event.

I can usually find at least one small thing, default, but the Sunday lunch we had was absolutely perfect. Thick cut a roast beef with Yorkshire, gravy, some had the fish, which looked amazing as well, and the lamb to looked great

Visited for a special celebration with 6 friends and chose from the small plate summer menu. At first we weren’t sure of how to combine our choices but we just went for a variety and they turned out to be perfect, every dish was a joy. The seabream was absolutely delicious, as were the home made lamb kofters and beef burgers. We all appreciated the skill shown in making each dish. The bar staff were lovely and couldn’t have been more helpful. Thank you Pilgrim

Absolutely outstanding! The food is of exceptional standard and cooked to perfection. My wife and I returned for the second week running and we were not disappointed. The Chef is a genius! The pub, the food, the staff; could not fault. The Pilgrim is a must for anyone who loves very good quality food. We will be back soon

Nice pub, although being charged £5 for a pint of diet coke was a bit much

Managed to secure a table at long last, it does book up early! However it was worth the wait. Have driven past many many times but this was our first visit. Deceptively large inside and a really welcoming old style pub inside. Quiet when we got in. Service was relaxed but the right tempo for a lazy Sunday lunch. Food was some of the best we had tasted for a long time. Beef was exceptional. One slight critique would be that another veg would make it perfect. Desserts excellent. Can’t wait to go back !

Started the evening with a drink outside in their lovely garden with a view! It was hard to choose from the menu, everything sounded delicious. We chose 4 dishes to share, the food was outstanding. The staff were friendly. Once again, a lovely evening at The Pilgrim

Really friendly staff and great food. Definitely worth a visit

Michelin Food but shocking service! The food is excellent, but the Sunday lunch service was so bad. Had to order all drinks at the bar after waiting between 10-20minutes for the staff to come back and take wine order/drink order - staff were just standing in the bar area not checking on the restaurant tables. We were asked whether we wanted dessert at the end of the meal and we said yes, menus were given and then we waited 10 minutes before deciding to get the bill and leave. Upon standing up and going to be bar to Pay all serving staff were sitting at the window table with their kids - shift over its seemed. I asked for the bill, paid leaving no tip because, well because of all of the above and we won’t be going back. Such a shame as the food was very good - the difference between 5 stars and 2 stars is service and it’s a shame this restaurant doesn’t understand this.

We like The Pilgrim. Familiar friendly faces. Good beer choices. Even the ‘boring’Sunday Roast was superb. My beef was juicy and pink. My wife’s pan fried fish was equally enjoyable. They do an excellent dinner too.

What a find and what wonderful pub in which to have lunch with friends. We had a warm welcome, service was friendly and extremely helpful and our food was delicious. We loved the innovative menu and that your order all comes out together so that you can share plates, if you wish to do so. LOVED it. Thank you and look forward to returning to eat here again soon.

Not sure which Pilgrim Pub the other reviewers ate at, but it certainly wasn’t the one I ate at last night, this was without a shadow of a doubt the worst pub meal I have ever eaten in my entire life! You’re greeted by this strange menu which consists of “snacks” and “specials” instead of starters and main courses. Eventually I decided to have the venison pie (£17) and asked the young lady what vegetables it came with, to be told that it didn’t come with any vegetables. OK, so can I order some vegetables separately? “We don’t do vegetables separately, you can order another vegetable main course though to go with the pie (another £8) !” OK, so I decided to pass on the vegetables and just have the venison pie. When the main course arrives, I have a tureen a bit bigger than a saucer which is filled with mashed potatoes at the bottom of which is some gravy! If there ever had been any venison in it, it had long since made it’s escape and bolted out over the fields! I have to say, I’m rapidly giving up on eating at local pubs now, they seem to be filled with “Masterchef wannabes” who insist on concocting these pretentious menus, which seem to have more to do with feeding their own egos, than producing good food for their customers! Next time I’ll go to an Ember Inn and get a proper meal!

wow wow wow, came here for a sunday roast after reading good reviews online, and they were all right - it was AMAZING! flavours were epicccc. a bit more on the spenny side but soo worth it.

Fantastic food, service and atmosphere. Really deserves the Michelle Recommended status. There's no concept of starter and mains, order what you want and it arrives when it's ready. This works really well. Don't often visit the same place twice for date night, this will be on a select list from now on. You won't be disappointed.

I love the atmosphere here food always nice especially the burgers! Menu can be confusing. The only thing I will say it would be nice not to have to leave the table to get our drinks Apart from that will defiantly return!

We had a wonderful evening at the Pilgrim with amazing food in lovely friendly surroundings. The staff were super friendly and helpful and the whole evening was perfect. Why didn’t we know this gem that is so close to us existed? We plan many more visits now. Thanks

A really great old school village pub.

Best Sunday lunch in ages, both the beef and the lamb options were heavenly

Unfortunately we had a very bad experience at the Pilgrim in terms of the service and manners of the manager/owners. Our cut of beef was very fatty and far too rare for our liking, so was hoping the manager would offer an alternative option but instead said that is how the beef comes and no1 else has complained about it in the pub (making us feel like it was us being too fussy). And then when we said we won’t be paying for the dish, she just took the plate and stormed off into the kitchen, which was very unprofessional. Never quite experienced service like it, and won’t be returning!

Beautiful food, fantastic atmosphere , superb service. The Pilgrim is just down the road from us and we had promised to go for an evening meal since lockdown after having many breakfast baps outside in the lovely garden. We took our friends on a Saturday night and had a truly lovely experience. Can’t wait to go back.

Good view, good food, good vibes, what else can you ask for?

Amazing pub in an area of the countryside that is rather lacking in good food places. Their food is delicious, fresh, varied and far better than standard pub grub. But its already really good value for money. Lovely location as well with a massive beer garden, and different locations to sit so you can always find something which suits your mood. And you can take dogs! What more can you ask for really!

Out for country walk and we stopped off for early lunch. Special Burger and cheese/mac (& cold beer for me) In garden terrace. Food very good (beer even better on such a hot day).

Had a super meal at The Pilgrim. Nothing was too much trouble and the food was outstanding. The summer plates menu was perfect as it gave us the chance to share food and try four different meals. Nadia and her team provided us with excellent service and made my husband's birthday very special. We will definitely be back!

We ate here for Saturday lunch, four of in the garden, and we all agreed the food was excellent. We shared various plates of food, big and small. The lamb, beef and fish dishes were all cooked perfectly for us. Service was of a very high standard too. It was a real pleasure to spend a couple of hours here. Worth walking up to the back of the garden for the view if you visit.

Lovely pub serving fantastic food served by very friendly staff - would definitely recommend!

My visit to the Pilgrim in November was almost faultless: excellent food, great service and a good atmosphere. Unfortunately this visit did not meet up to our expectations. Firstly the menu style had changed from a traditional balance of starters, main course etc to a confused and irritating avant garde, quirky menu where you choose a number of main dishes which are larger than tapas and only slightly smaller than a normal main course. Initially, nobody explained the procedure and we were surprised that the food was delivered in a haphazard way. I received both my dishes before one of our table had received any food. Fortunately, I received my mackerel just before the duck but this appeared to be more luck than judgement. In fairness to the Pilgrim, the food was delicious but the service was mediocre as the staff were overstretched. This style of service does not work in a cute olde pub as there were only 2 members of staff working the bar and serving food. We all felt that the trendy style was over complicated and staff intensive and it became annoying to have to get up to make requests for the basics. Unfortunately, during our meal, a group of other guests arrived and sat at the next table who had no consideration for other diners. The noise levels were extreme and completely unacceptable. As we conceded defeat on conversation, we felt it necessary to move in order to enjoy the end of our evening. The question is would I return? The answer: unlikely unless they reverted back to a sensible menu. Sorry Pilgrim, it doesn't work!

We arrived about 7 for a 7.30 booking on a Saturday. We'd not visited before. The welcome was friendly. The surrounding area and decor are what one would expect from a village & gastro pub. It was a summer evening and there was a group of people sitting near the the bar who were having a good time. Our table was in the dining area but very close to the bar and the noise level from the bar area was very loud. The summer menu is 'small plates' so we ordered a selection and apart from a mix up over one of the dishes we ordered (resolved by smiling and apologetic waiter) the service and food was good. The group of 4 happy, but loud, people departed, to be replaced by another couple of happy, but very loud groups at the bar. Had we been there for a drink, the noise level wouldn't have been an issue - great atmosphere; but for a family meal, when we wanted to chat and enjoy the food, the noise level was intrusive and degraded our experience. This isn't a complaint - it is fabulous that people are out, enjoying themselves in pubs now; but there is a mismatch between what constitiutes a comfortable noise level for diners, versus people who are out for a social drink and the layout of the venue can't accommodate both needs easily, and for this reason I have rated lower than perhaps the food deserved. (I've just read an article in today's news that says that 'more than half of the capital's food venues are too noisy to hold a conversation' - The Pilgrim is not alone!) If we go back I'll ask for a table away from the bar, and maybe avoid Saturday evenings.

Nice countryside pub. Great gardens. Wheelchair friendly. Will visit again. Good pint of Guinness

I had the best Sunday lunch EVER here. The pub is so cosy and nicely decorated, the staff were friendly and the food was amazing. We had the lamb and the beef, both were melt-in-your-mouth delicious, the roast potatoes were the perfect texture and a good amount, the Yorkie pud was enormous and tasty, very generous amount of gravy and the carrot mash was so unique! We even ate all the peas. The desserts were excellent too, especially the chocolate cake. Wish I could go back every Sunday.

Excellent food and a good atmosphere. I will certainly visit again as the menu has a lot of variety to explore. Highly recommended.

Good,clean, smart village pub. Good pint of Beechwood bitter and delicious food.

Was just passing, but wish I lived here the pub is beautiful and locals really nice. Worth popping in

Really lovely pub with fantastic food, decent portions and reasonable prices

Lovely village pub with log burner lit today. Friendly atmosphere,very impressed & will go again for sure. Thank you for lovely couple of hours

We enjoyed our meal in this lovely pub. The food has good quality and they are quick and efficient. They have a woodburner, very cosy. They also have parking at the back so you don't need to worry much about parking space. It wasn't full this day, not sure if it gets full eventually.

2nd time of visiting this lovely pub. Food was excellent. Service great.

Met with friends (who recommended the place) for a Sunday afternoon drink and chat. Great traditional pub vibes and a few very nice pints! We will be back soon.

Can't recommend highly enough. Cosy pub with huge garden. Excellent, thoughtful menu with good quality food. Super friendly and helpful staff and everything was done just right. We went to meet up with family and have a meal and everyone in our group from age 6 to 76 left satisfied and happy. 😊

Nice comfortable interior. Friendly staff. Nice outdoor space. Amazing food.

It's very difficult to find somewhere that fulfils all the criteria for a good evening out with friends but, thankfully, we discovered the Pilgrim. Firstly, it's not a pretentious restaurant so don't expect a high level of attentive service BUT the food was imaginative, beautifully prepared and the end result was delicious. The staff were extremely pleasant and couldn't do enough to ensure that our evening was totally enjoyable. We all agreed that we would definitely return on further occasions.

We had a great meal here well worth the drive to get there. An intimate atmospheric small village pub type restaurant with good service, and great food at reasonable prices. Love the smoke salmon starter the Barnsley Chop was perfectly cooked, (it should be on...

Went with our friends and had a great meal. The mussles, devilled mushrooms, sardine, steak and fish was all fabulous.

Amazing food and fabulous staff

Great village pub for drinks & open mic nights

A wonderful birthday celebration dinner in the Pilgrim, accompanied by the usual fantastic service. The duck leg with puy lentils and chalk stream trout were as good as anything we’ve had anywhere. Nadia, Brett and their staff always maintain the highest of standards. Highly recommended.

One of the most modern pubs I've been into but still with that warm classic feeling of a pub. Very friendly staff but the drinks are quite expensive. I don't have any photos of it unfortunately but I'm sure you'll love it. I'd definitely come back and I highly recommend this pub to anyone.

A very well executed meal in lovely pub surroundings. Great quality ingredients. Great beer selection at a reasonable price as well. Even the non alcoholic beer choice!

had lunch here on a sunny day in September. Sat outside with four dogs. Friendly, prompt service, and a good and innovative menu.

Just returned from a really fantastic Sunday lunch. The beef was perfectly cooked, the Yorkshire pudding was incredible (possibly the best I have ever had) however the star of the show was the gravy - definitely the tastiest beef gravy I have ever eaten, simply...

It's been a long time in U.K. lockdown but we broke out and went to this wonderful establishment. The parking lot is a little tight but the pub inside is beautiful, great character and ambience. We had a lovely table by the window looking at...

Fantastic food, a great selection of beer and a welcoming atmosphere.

Great, high quality food. The chef is very talented. Would highly recommend, in fact we have told everyone.

What can I say the food was amazing. Not a surprise really considering it is a Michelin rated pub. They grow a lot of their own produce. The food just melted in your mouth on each bite. It was delicious 😋 We did an impromptu visit about a week ago and decided to eat outside, despite being a little windy. Lovely views up near the slight hill out the back. Was told they had a small festival a few years back and can imagine it was a great atmosphere. Each area, inside and out was unique and cosy. They had an outside court area, gazebos with lots of lavender nearby, cosy fireplace and various nooks and crannies. The staff were soo helpful. Felt very guilty that they had to keep coming out all the way to serve us. Have added it to our Favourites and will definitely be going back.

Amazing beer garden with a good selection of drinks, looking forward to eating here!

Great pub in the countryside, especially after a long hike. We ended there for a pint of great Chech Kozel lager. Met by the owner only to find out it is a Micheline starred. Booked table for a week later and had great experience. Food was delicious, small peculiarities met with a smile, food adjusted on the go from vegetarian to vegan. Everyone in the group was satisfied with both the food and attitude to customer. Would recommend.

Dropped in for a lunch , sat in a quirky heated area . Great local beer, and Cornish cider Ate off the garden menu, superb homemade burgers , and lovely lunch portion of duck and fondant potato .Then tried a cheeky pudding. My oh My...

Beautiful village pub with gorgeous top quality food & a cracking beer garden. Highly recommend

Fantastic pub! One of the best I’ve been to in the area. The staff are all brilliant, welcoming and attentive. The food is top restaurant quality, the burger was outstanding. Great choice of beers on draught, Lost Lager 👌! The beer garden has incredible views and was beautiful on a sunny Saturday. We will be back and thanks for the great service!

Some of the best food I've ever had

Superb meal. Lovely pub with friendly, welcoming staff. Highly recommend.

Excellent food, nice simple and comfortable surroundings, helpful staff and very good service - what’s not to like? Certainly the best food in the area.

Happy chilled Sunday vibe with a local feeling and nice selection of wine

Superb Pan Roasted Calves Liver followed by sharing each of the Treacle Tart, Chocolate Fudge Cake and the Lemon Possett with Blood Orange. All flavours were excellent and we could not fault a thing. The wines were good as well. This place is a gem...

We had eaten at the Pilgrim 2 to 3 times previously and due to the outstanding food I decided to book for my wife’s Birthday as a surprise. The communication and assistance given by Nadia and the service & meal on the day were once...

Food is incredible! Good atmosphere aswell

Booked a table for 4 for an evening meal, the staff were happy to accommodate a 5 diner. All 5 meals were superb.. Recommend the lamb shank... Definitely one to return to.

Lovely lunch with friends. The food is fabulous, all freshly cooked and well presented. Good menu with plenty of choice.

Well it's just a nice friendly place to go to. Plus you always fell welcome.

We hadn't been here for about 3 or 4 years and were so pleased we came. The pub is well presented with a roaring log burner offering a warm welcome on a soggy cold November day. Staff behind the bar were friendly and efficient. The...

I rarely bother to write a review but having now visited The Pilgrim twice over the last couple of months with two different groups of people, these guys deserve all the praise they are receiving. The surroundings are welcoming and comfortable, all the staff are charming and the food is tremendous. It is without doubt the finest pub/restaurant to visit for many miles around.

My partner and I booked for Sunday lunch and the word incredible simply doesn’t suffice. The warm greeting by Kayleigh, followed by professional and kind service by the landlady was perfect. The stunning bar attracts a charming bunch of locals and those who have travelled from further afield for food or a good pint. When shown to our table the service and facilities were never less than exceptional. Then the food came out. Simply, wow. The beef genuinely sent shivers down my spine, as the deep and delicious gravy orchestrated me between the simply perfect components of this perfect Sunday lunch. Thank you to all at the pilgrim who made my partner and I feel so welcome and providing me (sorry mum) the best Sunday lunch of my whole life. Can’t wait to return Joanne and the bf x

A large group of us visited recently to celebrate mums 70th birthday. We could not have asked for better service - the meals were fantastic as usual, staff were attentive and all 15 meals were served together. Special personal touches from the owners made it a truly lovely afternoon. Faultless - thank you.

We have been to the Pilgrim a few times and always had great food.We went there today although not unpleasant we were told we would have a long wait it didn’t seem busy one table of six,it was like they couldn’t be bothered so we left

A really good menu with so many choices. I had food envy, even though my starter and main course were amazing. We have also had Sunday lunch here, which was very good.

We booked Sunday lunch at the Pilgrim because it's half way between us. One of our party had the smoked salmon which he said was delicious. We all had the roast beef. Excellent portion and everything beautifully cooked. We finished with 2 cheese and 2 chocolate tarts. All really delicious. Lovely atmosphere. Very pleasant staff. Would highly recommend.

Lovely pub, friendly staff, great food

Lovely pub, great staff and food is perfect. Curry night not to be missed.

A menu that's a cut above the average "pub grub" selection. Even the burgers and bacon sandwiches come in a brioche bun instead of boring sliced bread, and the meat is excellent quality. A good selection of beers, served by friendly, efficient staff. The pub itself is comfortable and quirky, while the beer garden is well-maintained and a lovely place to sit.

We had a Sunday lunch and for starter had the deviled mushrooms which were absolutely gorgeous. For main we had the roast beef which was cooked to perfection and so tender. It was obviously a very good quality beef joint and well worth every penny. Great service and locally produced beers available.

Brilliant food, relaxed atmosphere and great beer garden!

I am new to the area, and have been given a handful of places to try, but I stumbled across this gem while out driving getting to know the area. I have sampled various suggestions of Restaurants by the locals, but as we all have different tastes, I find a lot of Restaurants still use frozen chip and that basically puts me off (if there was a shortage of Potatoes I would get it). However, The Pilgrim is simple fresh fare. It is always tasty, its a lovely pub, lovely fireplace in the winter, warm and welcoming with really good food, always fresh food, pleasant service, best honeycomb ice-cream! Fresh fish, I love the Hake, Beet Carpaccio is delish.. Its just a great place!

A wonderful find, best place I’ve been to for a long time. Warm and welcoming people, lovely atmosphere and delicious food. Well-balanced flavours, for example of my grilled mackerel with tomatoes and sourdough bread. Some sweetness coming through and definitely some high-quality olive oil. The plate is made by a potter who lives around the corner: Marc at North Marston Pottery, which was the reason we found ourselves in the village.