Stroud Times enjoyed a pre-Christmas visit to the picture-postcard village of Filkins to sample the delights of The Five Alls.
Lying close to the Oxfordshire border with Gloucestershire, Five Alls is a charmingly restored 17th century, ivy-clad Cotswold stone coaching inn and boutique retreat with nine rooms.
On a rainy day, the weather was emphatically put on the back-burner as we were warmly greeted by three of the most engaging people I have ever met. Owner Tom Downing felt like a long lost friend from minute one, general manager Rob Wilks, and his equally charming front-of-house partner Joanne Hession put us swiftly at ease as we settled in for our overnight stop.
The Five Alls is packed with history and character, we felt at home in the light and airy drinking area and behind the handsome Cotswold stone bar, we eyed a sumptuous range of 40 carefully selected bottles of wine, sparkling wines and champagnes, with 20 available by the glass, alongside an extensive selection of locally produced craft ales and guest beers.
Before we settled for dinner we tucked into the ample bar snacks which numbered Mac and cheddar cheese bites, crispy olives, popcorn chicken and homemade focaccia.
Already full to the brim on bar snacks, the vast menu proved a daunting test, but despite feeling already stuffed, we started our evening with aplomb.
The kitchen offers well-considered seasonally changing, à la carte and set menus celebrate the very best seasonal ingredients found locally and from around the UK, including fresh daily fish deliveries from Brixham, Devon.
Vegetarian and vegan options are available on every menu and there’s also an all-day bar snacks menu and a dedicated children’s menu too.
The dining space leads to two light and airy, oak-beamed dining rooms seating up to 100.
I went straight for the jugular and picked the classic Five Alls dry aged burger and fries, with bacon, relish, crispy onions and monterey jack cheese – delicious.
My partner hadn’t hit the bar snacks as hard and started her evening from the A La Carte appetisers menu – picking Cod goujons, which were complimented with tartar sauce. Keeping up the fish theme, my dinner date opted for Bibury trout supreme, which came with winter squash, spinach and café de Paris sauce – cooked to perfection.
Totally satisfied, we really didn’t want a dessert, but the temptation to scan the menu proved too much. I chose the Five All’s coffee panna cotta and amaretto crumble. My dining partner, after much deliberation, picked out the roast pineapple, mango sorbet which was finished off with a coconut biscuit.
At the end of our feast, we retreated to a further bar area – an Alpine-style snug with leather sofa and chairs edging a huge inglenook fireplace with log fires burning we settled for two Espresso martini’s.
After a great night’s sleep, breakfast awaited and another food dilemma. To set us up for our journey home we went for porridge, the bowls were so big the porridge could have fed an army!
Above the pub, four en-suite rooms with two Kingsize and two double bedrooms with a further five, cottage-style rooms, all en-suite, with super Kingsize beds, and all edging the rear garden with its suntrap terrace – a must for drinking and dining on warmer days.
Dogs are welcome in the bar and dining areas and there are two dog-friendly rooms for an extra £20 a night per dog, and which includes a happy dog hamper of duck bites, enrichment cards, adios poo bags and Earl Grey Hound
tea for dogs. Treats on the bar include rabbit, venison and boar chews. Five Alls nine stylish and comfy bedrooms have just been given a refresh and
are simply decorated in a calming, neutral palette with pops of colour. Luxurious touches including duck down duvets and Bramley toiletries.
Other decorative elements include thick all-wool carpets, vintage furniture and travel trunks, local interest books and guides, Nespresso coffee machines,
mini fridges and Roberts radios, while high spec limestone tiled bathrooms
feature luxurious, walk-in showers.
Doubles and Kingsize rooms above the pub cost from £100 a night and Cottage Garden rooms with Super Kingsize beds cost £140 a night, on a B&B basis.
A Family Suite, sleeping two adults and up to three children, starts at £140 a night + £20 per child. Alternatively, the spacious Family Suite can also be used by two adults. Breakfast includes delights such as the Five Alls Full English and the very popular Bubble ‘n Squeak featuring streaky bacon and fried eggs.
The relaxed, buzzy atmosphere at Five Alls makes it ideal for families with children of all ages welcome to dine and stay. Extra beds for children are available and cost £20 per child.
Five Alls characterful charm is enhanced throughout with sensitively restored original features such as rendered Cotswold stone walls, flagstone or oak floors, inglenook fireplace, exposed oak beams and Georgian sash windows, which complement the Cotswolds chic décor to create cosy, welcoming and stylish interiors.
Original works of contemporary art decorate walls alongside some quirkier touches such as antique gramophone speakers upcycled as pendant lights in the main bar, alongside antique kilims, Ikat cushions, linen curtains and Roman blinds.
On the doorstep, historic mill, museum and shop, Cotswold Woollen Weavers where cloth in traditional patterns is produced on old looms.
Nearby, Uffington’s White Horse and Iron Age Fort, Kelmscott Manor, once the home of William Morris, the Thames Path, Buscot Manor and chocolate-box Bibury. Oxford and Blenheim Palace are about 20 miles away.
Filkins is situated midway between the gorgeous Cotswolds village of Burford, with its fine high street and independent shops, Cotswold Wildlife Park and Burford Garden Centre, while Lechlade, also offers good, independent shopping + kayak hire for exploring the Thames or walking along the Thames Path.
The Five Alls Filkins, Lechlade, Gloucestershire, GL7 3JQ www.thefiveallsfilkins.co.uk
Reservations – 01367 860875, enquiries@thefiveallsfilkins.co.uk, www.facebook.com/filkinsfivealls www.instagram.com/thefiveallsfilkins/
