As we enter the final few weeks of Thame's Best Breakfast the competition is hotting up. So far we've had a mixed bag of quality, price and service - where would the Black Horse rank with our food expert?
"Well I must admit I am putting on a bit of weight now! I am however enjoying 'being forced' to eat a fry-up every weekend! This week I set off to The Black Horse. I have never eaten there before and actually didn't know they did a breakfast. After arriving and not really being sure where to sit, a friendly lady showed me through to the conservatory, where I was at that point the only customer sat to eat. I awaited a menu but it didn't come...Thought I would wait a little longer, in the end 15 minutes went by, more customers arrived by this point and they were served quite quickly and were placing food orders. At that point I went and asked if I could be served. The waitress was very friendly, but came with no menu - after telling me what was on the breakfast, I was delighted by the sounds of 'two of everything' with a choice of hash browns or fried bread (being a bit greedy I went for both!). At this stage I had no idea of the price!
After a very reasonable ten minutes a lovely looking plate of food was put in front of me. Presented with a nice jug of beans that were piping hot, two of pretty much everything on the plate (as promised) and a very apologetic waitress about the initial wait. I was really, really surprised at how good this breakfast looked and couldn't wait to tuck in! Two eggs - both nice runny yolks and no burnt bits on the underside, two proper sausages, mushrooms that weren't just chucked in a fryer and when I poured the beans out there was lots to ooze and fill the gaps around my plate. And YES - hash browns, that's the first breakfast I've had so far with some hash browns. The fried bread was perfectly done, none of this leaving in the fryer for too long. The bacon was also different to every other breakfast I've had so far. Nice and streaky (but not just fatty) - really good flavour, I would guess these are of local produce (if they are then a menu stating it would be great!!).
The last thing to consider, of course, was the bill - and as I looked at the slip of paper put in front of me, I was expecting it to be roughly the same price as The Thatch (£9.50). What a pleasant surprise when I see £7.90. Wow! For that price it's ticked the quantity and quality box that's for sure! At £7.90 it sits in the middle of all the breakfasts I've had so far. The breakfast itself can't be faulted. The only flaw really was the initial service and lack of a menu!
Next week I will be taking a trip to Smarts (yes the fish and chip shop) who now offer a breakfast".
Read our previous articles on Thame’s best breakfast below
Week 1 – The Thatch – www.thamehub.co.uk/big-breakfast-week-one-thatch/
Week 2 – Little Chef – www.thamehub.co.uk/big-breakfast-week-two-little-chef/
Week 3 – Treacles Tea Room – www.thamehub.co.uk/big-breakfast-round-3-treacles-tea-room/
Week 4 – The Coffee House – https://www.thamehub.co.uk/big-breakfast-week-4-coffee-house/
Week 5 – The Snooker Club – https://www.thamehub.co.uk/big-breakfast-week-5-snooker-club/
Week 6 - The Cornfield Bakery – https://www.thamehub.co.uk/big-breakfast-week-6-cornfield-bakery/
