Smokey Phi Phi Thai Street Barbecue at The Railway Cheltenham

I think it's fair to say that Cheltenham's not short of a watering hole or two. There are pubs and bars aplenty, with cafes and coffee shops even offering some booze options now. But what about the food? Many places just seem to serve your average pub grub; there'll be claims of being the best burger in town (it's not), and most dishes come with chips (I'll let them have that - we all love chips). Essentially it's inexpensive (though not always value for money) stodge to soak up the few-too-many post-work pints. Or, if you're lucky, you might find somewhere with stone baked pizzas, 'cause that's a thing now.

The places which stand out are those which play it a little differently, and The Railway was one such place. A lovely pub, a little off the beaten track, down the lower end of the High Street… Behind Waitrose, darling! For years it had been known for it's Sausage Kitchen where you could choose from a variety of sausages, different mashes and a selection of gravies. They even did a sausage roast dinner on a Sunday, kind of like having pigs in blankets - sans blankets - all rear round.

Recently they made the decision to change. I was shocked, as were many, because they had their USP and they were doing it well. That's all we ask for. But then I though to myself, when was the last time that I actually went to The Railway for food?... Quite a few years ago it would seem... Bingo. We all knew it was there, we all knew what to expect, we all knew it was good, but at the same time we're all guilty of chasing the new, exciting places popping up elsewhere in town. Is this why they decided to shake things up a little? Most likely.

The Railway's new venture is Smokey Phi Phi's Thai Street Barbecue. Quite similar to The Vine that does stonkingly good Thai classics on the cheap (I'm guessing they're linked), but here we have hot, smoky, fragrant Thai street food. Think lots of finger foods, with dips and sauces galore, bigger sharing dishes and numerous sides. As with most small plate places, things come out of the kitchen as and when they're ready; it's all about sharing and eating the food when it's at its best.

Last month a whole host of local bloggers were invited to try some of the new dishes from Smokey Phi Phi's kitchen. The menu changes daily though, so what we had that night might not be what you'll be able to get on your visit - and you should visit!

Small plates (£2-6) included rice paper rolls packed full of fresh herbs, veg, noodles and tofu, with a sesame soy dipping sauce. Charred and smoked vegetables (they use applewood and oak), which whilst lovely, were covered in a super spicy sauce that was too hot for most people on our table. Little nuggets of crispy pork belly with chilli sauce, gone in seconds, and chilli chicken wings. Yeah, yeah, everyone has chicken wings on their menu now, but these aren't the Americanised Buffalo kind; they're sweet and salty thanks to that Thai fave, fish sauce. A good contender for best wings in town. The standout for me though was the grilled sriraja prawns with chilli and lime dip. Messy business peeling off those blackened shells, but oh man.

Whilst we all got carried away grazing at the small dishes, the large plates (up to £15) are not to be ignored. Smoked marinated pork shoulder steak, which was juicy enough on its own, but came with a tangy tamarind dipping sauce that made it even better. The whole crispy sea bass with an eastern herb salad looked awesome, but was surprisingly my least favourite. Crispy skin - tick - but the fish was a little over cooked with not enough sauce or salad to remedy it. Some tweaking and the bass will be back in the game.  

The smoked sirloin with lemongrass and chilli salad was breath-taking, literally. There's some serious spice in that one, but with such fresh, clean flavours coating every strip of steak I couldn't leave it alone. A dish to blow away the cobwebs *mops brow*. The winner of the night was without question the smoked pork belly rendang. A big piece of pork belly, which you have to portion up yourselves - crackling n'all - in a soul-soothing coconut based sauce. Not as punchy in the heat department, but rich, aromatic and oh so good.  Parcels of sticky rice and bowls of coconut rice were a good accompaniment - sides are £2-5 - but the rotis were where it's at. Perfect for scooping up the leftover rending sauce.

With no Thai Green Curry or Pad Thai in sight, The Railway has found its new niche. The food is interesting, and daily menu changes will keep it from going stale. I can see Smokey Phi Phi's Thai Street Barbecue being a hit... What sausages anyway?

The Peacock Oxhill

South Warwickshire is pretty far to go for a midweek meal, but a few weeks ago The Chap and I ventured out to see what all the fuss was about.

It seems like every local blogger under the sun has visited The Peacock in Oxhill over the past 6 months, but now it was our turn... Truth be told, I'd had one of those nightmare days; I woke up late, traffic was awful on my commute, I had a rubbish day at work where everything I touched seemed to go wrong, ending with my car failing its MOT having to stay in the garage overnight. Ugh. The last thing I wanted was a 50 minute drive for dinner, but seeing as we'd had it booked in for quite some time, off we went (in The Chap's white van no less).

With our phones as satnavs, teetering on the 10% low battery mode, we hastily arrived having not taken in any of our surroundings. Get there quick or risk getting lost. Though in typical Cotswold village fashion, street lights were few and far between, so we'd have been lucky to see much further than our headlights anyway. C'est la vie. What I do know is that The Peacock is a 15th century pub located somewhere between Banbury and Stratford, serving cask marque beers and local home-cooked food. A proper pub then - that's what we like.

Through the doors you'll find lots of stone, a fireplace, wooden beams, seating at the bar, and a resident dog called Henry, though he'll ignore all your efforts to get him over to you as he's rather deaf - poor thing. There's a separate 'restaurant' to the side of the bar, with a peacock feather feature wall (quite late 90's Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen Changing Rooms). I'm not entirely sure what the difference is between the two areas, other than one might be quieter during prime boozing hours, but from our experience you're more likely to get better service in the bar down to the fact that the staff can see when you've finished your food and drinks.

Drinks are cheap - £3.50 a pint and just over a fiver for a large glass of wine, nothing fancy - and there's lots of choice on the menu for eats. Want steak and chips? You've got two cuts to choose from. A beefy burger? It's topped with cheese, bacon and onion rings. Something saintly? There's a superfood quinoa salad. Something fancy? How about homemade crab ravioli with langoustine bisque?  It's all good value too; most mains are £13/14 with the most expensive being £23 for the rib eye, and starters/desserts are around the £7 mark.

After thrusting some pictures of the quail scotch egg with piccalilli, aioli, pork scratching and granny smith apple (£7.50) at The Chap the night before, he wanted nothing else. He's a die-hard pork product fan, and no one should get in the way of him and his piggy treats… I know my place. The diddy yolk was still runny - hurrah - and the meat seasoned and herbed. It looked good, tasted good, and had lots of little accompaniments to keep it from just being a scotch egg on a plate.

I was chuffed with my choice; homemade fishcake with wilted spinach, poached egg and hollandaise (£7). Made with salmon, smoked haddock and crab, it was more-fish-less-potato and much appreciated for that fact. There was another tick on the runny yolk front - phew - and whilst the hollandaise was beautifully buttery, it had enough acidity to stop the dish from being overly rich.

I bagsied the chargrilled 10oz pork chop for main course, served with melt in the mouth boulangère potatoes, confit red cabbage, pork bon bons and a thyme jus (£13). What a looker. The meat was tender, juicy, and not cooked within an inch of it's life as too many pubs do with chops, though as a result, some of the fat hadn't rendered down quite enough. No sweat, the salty pulled pork bon bons were a bonus and I loved the sweet-sour shift with the red cabbage - a little nod to Christmas. Oh, and I'm happy to report that there was enough jus to see me through (sorry not sorry).

The Chap was stuck for choice... Did he go for steak and chips (his beloved chippys!)? Or The Peacock's signature pie and mash? A little guidance from our waiter and he went hybrid; steak and red wine pie with hand cut chips (£13). There were some greens on the side too, but didn't get much of a look in. With the red wine jus on the side, the idea is to make a hole in the top of the pie and pour it in. The pot was only small so the worry was that the inside would be dry, but that wasn't the case. Jam packed with succulent beef, and that pastry...

Stuffed to the gills we probably should've skipped dessert, but thought we'd at least attempt one between us. The black forest mess was the lightest option, and in hindsight the one that they must make the most money on. £6 for some berries mixed through sweetened cream and crushed meringues. It was tasty - sure - but nothing I couldn't whip up in less than 5 minutes at home. Consider that a lesson learnt; I should've gone for the chocolate fondant like Sarah (Lewis Loves) recommended, though I'm not sure I'd have made it home.

Whilst I doubt I'd make the long drive to Oxhill again on whim, if I were in the area I'd certainly go back. The food coming from the kitchen is undeniably delicious and really good for the money - £65 for two courses each, two drinks each and a shared dessert. Never underestimate a village pub, especially one that stands proud like The Peacock.