IT’S a funny place, The Ketton Ox. It’s got all that history and one could argue it’s the most important building in Yarm... and yet it always feels more like a modern venue, a place for young people to go mad on a Saturday night, than a proper old pub.

So the fact it has had a £250,000 refurbishment left us intrigued as to how the old place would look. Would it be all bright and trendy or old world with pretend book shelves?

Happily it was neither but was simply freshened up and tastefully redecorated, even if it did have bleeping fruit machines by the bar.

The Ketton Ox is a working pub in a fashionable town, not a museum. What’s more the press release informing the world of it was open for business after its fancy lick of paint made much of the superior food now on offer and never mind the architectural importance of the windows.

But, really, it is impossible to write about this place without a mention of its history, which could, surely, be used as more of a selling point. As a late 17th Century pub it predates much of the historic High Street, including the iconic Yarm Town Hall which may explain why it has a Grade II* listing and the 1710 Town Hall does not.

It genuinely has all those associated historic details that many a gimmicky Wetherspoons-type boozer would kill for. For example, there’s the old cock-fighting rooms upstairs hidden behind the bricked up windows. Apparently, after cock fighting was made illegal in 1835, one cock-fighting pit would be left empty to fool the authorities, while the real action was going on in another.

Less appealingly to the average diner, perhaps, there’s also a room nick-named The Morgue, a place where dead bodies dragged from the Tees would be stored in times past.

But, as I say, this is a pub and the owners, The Stonegate Pub Co chain, are selling grub not history. And this is pub grub, really, no matter how fancified they try to make it. Nothing at all wrong with that, especially when as here, there are serious money-saving two-for-one deals on offer.

There’s even a table numbering system so you can order at the bar, a la Wetherspoons although our chatty waiter/barman did come over and take our order and had allowed the drinks to be put on the food tab. And there was pride in the food offered, our man even making recommendations, recruiting a member of the kitchen team to discuss the merits of the corned beef hash starter.

After that kind of enthusiasm from the staff it had to be tried at £4.95. It was no splurged, student dish but was nicely presented with an egg on top and sauces on the side. Pub grub, fancified. For me, it had a nostalgia attached from childhood and I was always going to love it. Kathy had mushrooms on toast (£4.75). A simple dish, well done and nicely presented.

There was a lot of choice on the menu and we had agonised over what to choose. Again, our man at the bar, not hurried on this Monday night, sympathised, gave us more time.
In the end I went for a beef pie made with chorizo and Rioja (£9.75). You could really taste the wine and it was packed with flavour. It wouldn’t have been out of place in a restaurant further down the High Street.

Kathy also tried a pie, the open chicken breast in a creamy smoked Applewood cheese and bacon sauce (£9.25). Again it was done to a turn and had plenty of flavour.

Normally we’d have either forgone the dessert or at least split one but The Ketton Ox offers two-for-one from Monday to Fridays (as it does on some main meals during the week) and, a born Yorkshireman, I’m not one to miss out on a bargain. 

Kathy’s choice was the superior one, the Irish cream and ameretti cheesecake (£5.25). It sounded too rich for me, especially after my very rich chorizo and Rioja sauce pie. But in fact it was light and sweet. I had the chocolate brownie (£4.95) which was heavy and could not be finished, even if you have an appetite as large as mine.

Here, for fear of failing in my duty, I have to register a couple of complaints. My main meal was supposed to have had a buttery mash with it but none arrived. I queried it with staff and had the price of a San Miguel lager chalked off the bill, which was a fair offer. The chocolate brownie was supposed to be warm and I was looking forward to eating the warm biscuit with the cold ice cream. However it came cold. This time I didn’t complain. The Ketton Ox is a pub, not a real restaurant, and the staff had been great. It was no big deal.

In fact I would return and, in the midweek – before the weekend deluge of revellers make their Friday and Saturday night pilgrimages to Yarm – would happily take my young daughter in this clean, pleasant pub. But I would have slightly lower expectations of the food than those outlined in the pub’s press release blurb and would keep an eye on the two-for-one deals which offer a genuine cheap meal bargain.

The Ketton Ox, 100 High Street, Yarm. Tel: 01642 788311. Web: kettonoxyarm.co.uk
Vegetarian Options
Disabled access

Ratings (out of ten): Food quality 7 Service 9 Surroundings 8 Value 8