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Best the devil you know...

There is a sign fixed to the pub wall stating 'business opportunity' and there is another sign on the small roundabout on the main road suggesting that it is 'under new management', but which is it?

Judging from the welcome we received, or rather lack of one, it surely can't be that it is under new management can it? A couple who looked like managers behind the bar ignored us totally when we walked through the door, not once, but twice! Not a good start, especially if it is their new business venture.

Fortunately, the ale was good and well kept but if you are a wine buff then simply don't bother. I had a glass of chardonnay which tasted so poor I could have removed the paint from my car with it, although I must confess it wasn't as bad as the box of wine my cousin brought to my barbeque last weekend! There were three white wines, three red wines and one rosé on offer and I am sure I chose the best of them.

We ordered food whilst here - a prawn baguette and a sausage and onion baguette and we chose to sit outside thinking they had a garden tucked away somewhere. But no, their outside space consists of three wooden bench tables in front of a garage on a driveway!

Food, when it arrived, was disappointing to say the least, with the star of the show being the sausage and onion baguette. I was very glad we had decided to share because I had ordered the prawn baguette which was by far the worst one I have ever had. Not enough filling which tasted as though it consisted more of margarine than of prawn, and to top that, the baguette was warm (microwaved). The side salad was at least prepared by hand and not from a polythene bag, but it was at room temperature and there was soil on the lettuce.

It makes me cross to think that there are people out there who think these standards are acceptable. Perhaps the managers are temporary, but if they are the new permanent managers then they really need to raise their game.

Willian is a delightful village and although the Three Horse Shoes doesn't have a prime spot on the main road, or have the outside space that other pubs enjoy, it could co-exist quite happily with The Fox and give it a real run for its money.

Its ales are quite good but the wine list needs to change. It is absolutely fine to stick with a small wine list as they currently have, but buy in decent wines - they don’t have to cost the earth. People are more likely to pay a bit more for something like and more than one glass at that. They also need to invest in a decent chef who is creative and who knows what they’re doing. The outside space may be small but with a few tubs and planters filled with imaginative colour they could turn a dull space into a beautiful one.

Take a look at Welwyn village - all the pubs and eateries there have had to raise their game in the face of stiff competition. This is good for business and also very good for consumer choice.

The Fox, just down the road, may be the most popular watering hole in the village, but it isn't to everyone's taste. However at the moment I think you would be hard pressed to find the Three Horse Shoes to anyone's taste. Come on Three Horse Shoes, get your act together before it’s too late and you are forced to close for good.

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