It is slowly starting to feel like summer. The sun is making and appearance on a more frequent basis and the sweet sent of flowers blossoming is in the air. For Gary and me this means that it is time to come out of hibernation mode and to increase the frequency of our local microtrips. Ideally, we would spend at least two weekends of each month discovering a new area of the United Kingdom.
A couple of weeks ago this blog led us to Newbury in South East England. Now I have to be honest, I didn’t have the greatest expectations of this tiny town in the middle of nowhere. Indeed, Newbury isn’t frequently mentioned among weekenders. It definitely isn’t as popular as its neighbours Oxford, Salisbury or Winchester. Turns out however that Newbury has a lot more to offer than I was giving it credit for.
We only stayed in Newbury for a day, but nonetheless had a fabulous night and lunch at the Elephant at the Market that weekend.
LOCATION OF ELEPHANT AT THE MARKET
The Elephant at the Market is located slap bang in the centre of Newbury, just of the town square. In terms of location it honestly cannot get any better. It occupies the sight of what once was the Queen’s Head and its main entrance gives straight onto Newbury’s busy weekend market.
And as I mentioned already there is surprisingly quite a range of things to do in Newbury and the surrounding area. In fact, two years ago, Gary and I attended the Races in Newbury’s world class Racing Course. It only takes ten minutes to walk from the Elephant at the Market to the racecourse.
But there is also plenty to see in the town itself. If you are visiting Newbury on a weekend then you should start by exploring the town’s weekend market. You could even pop into the town hall for a cup of tea. Did you know Newbury is one of the few towns to still have a town-crier?
A visit to Wickham House and Highclere Castle (the set of Downtown Abbey) is definitely a worthwhile endeavor. And finally I would highly recommend a walk along the canals.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE ELEPHANT AT THE MARKET
The Elephant at the Market, located at No.8 Market Place, is a premium pub, bar and 14-bedroom boutique style hotel, owned by brewing and pub business Marston’s. It is the perfect place for a mid-week pit stop or a weekend trip.
There is now doubt that the conversion of the former Queens Hotel into what is now known as the Elephant at the Market was a labor of love for its owner. Refurbishing this old pub on such a sensitive site must have thrown up all sorts of complications. But the graft certainly was worth it and I am convinced that this inn bound to attract not only local business people but also those coming to town for a weekend getaway in the countryside.
As the name suggests, this country inn is themed around everything Elephant. Each room is named after one of the characters from the Babar The Elephant and there are plenty of elephant statuettes in the restaurant too. At this point you might be wondering what the reason is behind this quirky theme. Well there used to be an Elephant and Castle pub on the market square back in the 19th century
INTERIOR AND ATMOSPHERE AT THE ELEPHANT AT THE MARKET
This country Inn is definitely stylish and brought up to modern standards. The interior manages to incorporate various quirky touches, without appearing overly fussy. I particularly enjoyed the wall of suitcases and the cacti dotted around the place.
Downstairs the stripped back-style of the venue creates plenty of room. This restaurant was definitely designed to be packed to the rafters with cheerful diners. Nonetheless the space has been sub-divided, and there are nooks and crannies in every corner. So, I would imagine that this pub doesn’t feel overcrowded even at full capacity.
In fact, as we walked through the space to our bedroom, we immediately picked up on the warm and homely ambience of the interior. The warm earthy colour palette certainly contributed to the relaxing effect.
CHECK-IN AT THE ELEPHANT AT THE MARKET
If like us you are driving to Newbury, you will be glad to hear that the Elephant at the Market does have a private car park. In fact, it is rather generous in size. You will need to approach the hotel from the back. Buzz the intercom and the staff of the inn will raise the barrier so that you can gain access.
The Elephant at the Market has two entrances. One just off the market and one at the back off the car-park. Just head-on in and you will quickly be greeted by someone at the reception desk.
Check-in itself was efficient and quick. I was asked for my card details in advance. Our hostess then grabbed our hand luggage and walked us across the busy pub to a little door that lead upstairs to the 14 newly revamped bedrooms.
She briefly described the features of our room and then left us to it.
OUR ROOM AT THE ELEPHANT AT THE MARKET
The stylish interior of the restaurant continues into the bedrooms, with each one having been designed with plenty of extra touches to give you that home-away-from-home feeling.
The bed itself has a large cushioned headboard for those late nights when you simply cannot put down your book. I also appreciated the eclectic fabric of the cushions on the bed. In my opinion you can never have enough cushions.
Furthermore the room featured a free standing mirror, armchair, a desk and a desk chair. So, there was plenty of space for Gary and me to hang about. On the desk we found a basket filled with all the usual goodies, tea, coffee and hot chocolate.
The Elephant at the market also provides its guests with earplugs. A nice touch but we didn’t end up needing them, as the room was quite enough throughout the night.
The one thing I would note is that the cream carpet was a little stained and might need replacing in the near future.
Design-wise the bathroom was my favourite part of the room. It featured tongue and groove panelling and smart retro tiles. And the little extras like White Company toiletries and fluffy linen towels come as standard in this country inn.
In total the Elephant has 14 bedrooms – four super king, seven king size, two twin and one large family room complete with a super king and sofa bed. So there is plenty of space for everyone.
BREAKFAST AT THE ELEPHANT AT THE MARKET
Breakfast was your typical affair, with a full-English for me and poached eggs on bread for Gary.
My full breakfast included sausages, bacon all the trimmings – bake beans, scrambled eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes. There really is nothing better than a traditional British breakfast to set-top up for a weekend getaway. And for me personally, it’s part and parcel of the Bed and Breakfast experience.
Gary generally prefers a lighter, continental breakfast. And to his delight the breakfast buffet at the Elephant at the Market did not only include your typical fresh juice, pastries and cereals. It also featured a mouth watering platter of cheese and dry-cured Me at. Yum!
His poached eggs were served on huge hunks if sourdoug-bread.
Overall the breakfast chef did very well!
LUNCH AT THE ELEPHANT AT THE MARKET
After a couple of hours spent exploring the town and canals of Newbury, our stomachs were finally ready for lunch. Back at the Elephant at the Market we were led to our table in a quiet spot of the pub. It didn’t take us long to peruse the menu and make our choices.
There is nothing more intimidating than a menu that has pages and pages of options, or a menu that is the complete opposite with barely any variety at all… fortunately the menu at The Elephant at the Market is none of these! Particularly well known for their charcoal oven steaks and wood fired pizzas, The Elephant at the Market also offer a variety of nibbles, starters and main meals
Since it was a little to early for alcohol and Gary would have to drive us back to London in a couple of hours, we opted for mocktails. One of my favourite drinks is a Mojito and the Elephants at the Market’s apple take on the classic sounded right up my street. It was! Gary is always a fan of cranberry juice, so his decision came easily too – the Not so Cosmo for the gentleman please.
For starters, we ordered one of our new firm favourites – melted camembert with sourdough bread to share for two. What an indulgence, I cannot recommend it enough. The Camembert was sprinkled with rosemary and left to melt in the oven to the perfect consistency. Paired with an apple chutney that had just the right amount of sweetness, this was the perfect dish to start-off our feast.
Since the Elephant at the Market is famous for its oven-baked pizzas, at least one of has had to try one. Gary happily consented and promptly chose the meatiest Pizza on the menu. It had a thin crust, just as we like it. And was loaded with cheese and slice of meat. No stinginess here!
I spotted Polenta on the menu and my decision was made. It was served with a luscious slice of pork belly and a spicy tomato salsa. The dish was light, fresh and extremely tasty. Perfect for summer. And because I am greedy I also ordered the spicy summer vegetable salad , which to my surprise and delight was one of the nicest side dishes I have ever had at a restaurant.
My plan was to order the giant profiteroles with honeycomb, salted caramel, chocolate sauce for dessert. However the dish proved to be so popular, that there were non left for me. So Gary and I decided to share the lemon pavlova meringue. I love lemon desserts and it is generally the perfect way to cleanse the palate after a meal. But for me this dessert was a little too heavy on the meringue side. Perhaps it would be advisable to break it up into smaller more manageable chunks. The lemon curd and creamy accompaniment however were delicious.
FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT THE ELEPHANT AT THE MARKET
Newbury is definitely a good location for a little microtrip. It is pretty remote and you will feel like you are miles away from London. It is the perfect place to unplug from busy city life. I would definitely suggest however that you stay overnight. There are plenty of things to do and the are should keep you occupied at least for the entire weekend.
The Elephant at the Market is perfectly situated for exploring the town. It is a modern, well designed country inn, that offers all the creature comforts that you could hope for. Overall, I cannot find fault with The Elephant at the Market, the service was fantastic, the food was delicious and the ambience was laid-back and relaxed. We 100% would not hesitate to go back in the near future.
Note: We were invited to stay at the Elephant at the Market on a complimentary basis for the purpose of this review.
Have you ever been to Newbury?
What did you get up to?
Comment below and let us know!
Did you Enjoy this article?
Share it with your friends and family on FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND PINTEREST
