Dun Cow

this place is always really busy, which is good and bad — yes it gives it a great atmosphere, especially around christmas but getting served is a nightmare, takes far too long. drinks are expensive. seems to be more an old man bar than anything else. if you want to eat then you have to book a table otherwise there is no way you will get a seat. everyone in the surrounding villages seem to be really bothered with this place and love it but there are better bars and restaurants in rugby

A massive, but on the whole average kinda pub situated in the sleepy village of Dunchurch, just outside of Rugby.
We didn’t arrive here until after 9pm and were slightly concerned that they wouldn’t still be serving food, but luckily they keep going until 10. The menu was quite extensive but mainly included typical pub grub, nothing that looked like it was particularly likely to tickle the taste buds.
I decided on the confit duck on the waitresses recommendation. Unfortunately, it didn’t have the usual melt in the mouth texture that a confit dish usually has, instead it tasted like it had just been popped into the deep fat fryer! The roasted veg that accompanied it were also slightly over cooked and the whole dish was a bit of a disappointment — it’s always a bad sign when I don’t finish a meal! My dining companion had the mixed grill, which was basically just a large plate of meat, however he looked pleased enough with his dish.
All this was washed down with a nice bottle of Sauvignon Blanc which certainly helped to cleanse the palate.
The restaurant was also mega-​hot. Another institution that has decided to slam on the central heating on the 1^st October, regardless of the ambient temperature.
On the plus side, the staff were all lovely and chatty, which has probably just scraped them three stars instead of the intended two. Geez, I’m a push-​over…

Really nice and historic pub surroundings. Always really busy, but the only attraction is the building itself — The food is mediocre at best (can be awful), glasses/​cutlery etc tend to be not washed properly, and the Dun Cow is totally let down by the incompetence, ignorance and rudeness of some of the staff. Arrived with my wife recently and we were told when we asked that we could take any table that did not have a «Reserved» board on it. Did just that, then just before our food arrived an extremely rude tall male member of the staff tried to tell us that our table was reserved and we would have to move ! Not only that, but still tried to make us feel unwelcome and at fault even after we pointed out that (unlike some other tables) there was nothing to indicate that our table was reserved when we sat down there. His ignorant behaviour totally ruined our evening — The way that we as paying customers were treated by this individual on our last visit was shameful and an absolute disgrace. I would not recommend dining at the Dun Cow to anyone.

I was part of a group of 8 who ate here last week. We had reserved a table which was ready for us at 7.30 pm when we arrived, and despite the fact that the pub was extremely busy found the service very friendly and pleasant, if a tad slow, although that could be explained by the sheer numbers of people there. The menu was traditional English, which is my only quibble, as on that night i really fancied pasta, so had to make do with something else, but it was very good nevertheless. I did make the mistake of ordering mashed potato (forgetting that i have NEVER been served with what i call decent mashed potato in a pub) but apart from that the main course was lovely. When it came to desserts, we did find a slight delay until our order was taken and so by that time of the night a lot of the desserts had run out so some of us had to have their second or even third choice, but i really loved my eton mess and would definitely have that again!
Like other people have said, it is a very busy pub, but it does have a good lively atmosphere, as opposed to being manically over crowded.

Was part of a party of 16 last Saturday night. Food was OK to good. Price reasonable. Service diabolical — 10 minutes for a pint of Guinness and others. Food very slow also.

Fabulous food, very busy pub, but service was excellent! Never ever felt rushed although they were busy, and the staff were great! Menu is quite small, but it was lunchtime, so not sure if it is a bigger menu in the evening! Well worth a visit!

A Vintage Inn Pub with the usual Vintage Inn’s menu. Traditional, well maintained interior, a large number of staff about, who were mostly pleasant. There was a wait to be seated as they were so busy (this was on a mid week night) but staff knew how to handle this level of trade.
Drinks were good, and the food quality was excellent. A little on the expensive side, but good value as it was tasty, well cooked, well presented, and out in a reasonable amount of time.
Would definitely visit there again if i was in the area.