Our pub is situated in the heart of Middlezoy, it is a traditional village pub built around 1624.

The surrounding villages are Westonzoyland, Chedzoy, and Othery. All of these villages including

Middlezoy played a key part in the Battle of Sedgemoor - the last battle on English soil. They are 

all fascinating places to visit because of the connection to the battle along with their stunning 

architectural and scenic interests.

On the way down to us you can enjoy the peace and beauty of the Somerset Levels and Moors,

an internationally important wetland that attracts large numbers of migrating birds and provides 

homes for rare plants and animals. So Please do come down to see us and enjoy a refreshing

drink over lunch whilst perhaps planning your afternoons adventure around the local villages. 

For other places of local interest please click here.

Please note -  Bookings are essential to avoid disappointment for evening meals.

Please call us on   -   01823 698 215

A Restaurant Review by Charlotte Russe - The George Inn, Middlezoy.

For this Middlezee News restaurant review I have visited a venue very close to home (and to my heart!) – The George Inn at Middlezoy.

We booked a table on a busy weekend evening – while people who hadn’t pre-booked a place were being reluctantly turned away by Graeme and Candice, the husband-and-wife team who own the pub. When we arrived, the pub was heaving, and the bar staff were struggling a bit with the combined demand for meals, drinks and table reservations, all at the same time: it took quite a while to get our first drinks. However, everything soon settled down, and as it was one of those (rare?) brilliantly sunny summer evenings, we had our pre-dinner drinks outside on the whitewashed terrace overlooking the road at the front of the pub.  The atmosphere outside was friendly and sociable, as it so often is at The George, with all the tables outside full, some with diners, and some full of drinkers, all chatting animatedly, and enjoying the balmy evening together.

At just the right time, though, we were called inside to our reserved table by Emma, one of the pub’s longest-serving helpers.  We went in, and took our seats at a table in the pub’s separate dining room, off to the left of the pub’s main entrance.  This room feels lovely: traditional and cosy, with its wooden beams, mixture of furniture and stoneware cider flagons on display.  Many diners do choose to eat their meals in the main bar, however, where they can rub friendly shoulders with The George’s regular evening drinking crowd, and enjoy the lively atmosphere around the tables and bar.

The evening menu ‘specials’ are chalked up on wooden beams in the main bar and in the dining room, and more detailed lunch and evening menus are also available on a pillar by the bar.

We didn’t have any starters with our meal but, instead, chose a range of interesting ‘specials’ that would all be cooked on Graeme’s ‘pride and joy’, his new barbecue-style griddle.  Just to give you a bit of background to this: Graeme originally ran a very successful steakhouse grill in his native South Africa.  And, as you probably know, South Africans take a great deal of pride in their ability to produce wonderful grilled food, on a traditional wood-fuelled barbecue, known as a braai.  Indeed, Graeme has been known to occasionally fire up a braai in his back garden, so that he can barbecue delicious home-cooked food for his family to eat when they are relaxing.  So that is where his natural talent and passion for grilling fresh food comes from.

When Emma took our order, I went for the swordfish steak special (£10.95) as a main course.  It arrived with a simple but tasty lemon and melted butter sauce in a separate jug, and complemented my fish perfectly.  It also arrived with crisply-fried chips and an elegantly-presented salad of mixed leaves, carrot, cucumber and tomatoes, tossed in a delicious balsamic dressing.  The swordfish was perfectly grilled, wonderfully moist with a characteristically steak-like texture, and full of delicate flavour,.  Someone to my right, who had ordered a substantial (12-ounce) pork chop with salad and chips(£10.95), stated: “In my opinion, The George’s chips are now definitely the best in the area”.  Indeed, they were tasty, crisp and golden, and seemed to have been fried in good, clean oil.  They would definitely be serious contenders for the ‘Best Local Chips’ award, if it existed.

Another main course ‘special’ that we tried was ostrich steak with salad and chips (£12.95).  “Delicious – deep red and quite meaty – with a texture a bit like fillet steak”, said the woman sitting next to me who ordered it, as she devoured it enthusiastically. By the way, one thing to bear in mind with Graeme’s specials: on a busy evening they can occasionally be in short supply so, if you can, you’re probably best to pre-order your grill specials when you make your table reservation, just to make sure they will be available on the night.

Someone at our table also ordered the 8-ounce sirloin steak with salad and chips (£11.95) from the standard evening menu, together with an optional creamy peppercorn sauce (£3.00).  I tried the steak and it was beautifully cooked – tender and rare, exactly as ordered, and the pepper sauce was nicely peppery and richly creamy.  You can also choose a creamy garlic or Stilton sauce for an extra £3.00 as well, if you prefer those flavours with your steak – and Graeme will cut your steak to any size – you just pay according to the weight you choose. We washed down our meal with a range of drinks: some of us continued to drink the pub’s beautifully-kept, ‘house’ real ale – Butcombe Bitter (they also have two constantly changing guest ales), while some of us enjoyed the wine: a lovely, chilled Pinot Grigio white, and a well-balanced, fruity Shiraz Cabernet red from Australia.

We nearly all had a pudding from the choice on offer (all priced at £3.25).  The pub’s Sticky Toffee Pudding, served with fresh cream, was absolutely first class: sweet with a proper sticky texture.  It seemed even better when served with the hand-made Salcombe Dairy ice cream from Devon that the pub stocks!  You can order the ice cream as a separate dessert, if you prefer: choose from several lip-licking flavours: vanilla, rum and raisin, triple chocolate, coffee; or honeycomb (bits of Crunchie bar mixed in – delicious, I was told), lemon meringue, or stem ginger. The locally-produced, homemade lemon cheesecake also got the thumbs-up from at least one of my fellow diners, and two others tried the individual Pecan Tarts with either fresh cream or ice cream (and made with a lovely, crumbly pastry, I was told). We rounded off the meal with a large cafetière of fresh coffee, and with a selection of liqueurs and brandies from the wide choice behind the bar.

All in all, we had a hugely enjoyable evening in enjoyable company, with first class food, particularly the grill ‘specials’ served lovingly from Graeme’s griddle.  Other types of food like chilli con carne, a range of curries and ploughman’s lunches are also available at both lunch- and dinner-time but, based on our experience, you’d be mad not to try something ‘special’ from Graeme’s sizzling hot griddle next time you’re in for a bite to eat!  He grills with passion.

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The George Inn

42 Main Road, Middlezoy, Somerset, TA7 0NN

Tel: 01823 698 215

Email: candice.bell@onetel.net