Welcome to The Black Horse

About Us

Built in the 17th century, The Black Horse is an award-winning, traditional inn set in the small hamlet of Ireland, Bedfordshire.  Bought by the Campbell’s in 1999, this family owned and run pub/restaurant has built up an excellent reputation over the years for providing outstanding fresh food, cooked by talented chefs, served by friendly and attentive staff in relaxed and comfortable surroundings.

The exterior of the building retains its original charm, enhanced with stunning flower baskets and window boxes overflowing with colour, flagstone frontage and manicured greenery, whilst the interior has been beautifully up dated in a contemporary style using natural materials, including wooden and stone floors and a slate top bar. With the low ceiling bar, original beams and inglenook fireplaces it still retains its character.

Our Restaurant

The restaurant consists of three distinct dining rooms, each offering their own unique style and atmosphere;

The Front Restaurant is set in the original section of the pub with low ceilings, natural wooden beams, the slate top bar and an inglenook fireplace with wood-burning stove. Original artwork adorn the walls and comfortable fixed seating divides the space, creating a relaxed and inviting dining area.

Follow the bar round to the left and you enter the Courtyard Restaurant, which offers a slightly more modern aesthetics with its atrium roof and open plan dining.  The large folding glass doors look out onto an enclosed courtyard with pretty pot plants and a stunning water feature wall.

Located to the right of the bar is a small coffee lounge, where you are welcome to sit whilst you peruse the menu, or just enjoy a relaxing drink.  This leads to The Garden Restaurant which spans across two levels with high ceilings and impressive beams, offering cosy eating nooks, a fireplace and views out to our beautiful patio garden.

In summer months the garden and courtyard areas are opened up to offer alfresco dining while enjoying the occasional British sunshine!

Our Menus

 

Lunch & Dinner

Our a la carte menu offers a range of dishes to suit all moods and tastes, from culinary classic such as our renowned Beer Battered Fish & Chips and 7oz Beef Burger with Bacon & Cheese to modern and exciting dishes that change throughout the year.

This menu is currently available Wednesday to Saturday 12pm-2pm and 6pm-9pm.

Sunday Lunch

On Sundays we are open for an extended lunch serving food from 12pm – 4:30pm offering a range of top quality roast meats sourced from local farms, accompanied with fresh market vegetables, crisp golden roast potatoes and of course our impressive homemade Yorkshire Pudding!  For those customers who prefer not to have a roast dinner, there are a variety of other dishes available.

With a mini roast for children, The Black Horse is the perfect venue for a family meal out.

Lunch & Dinner Menu Sunday Lunch

Children

We welcome children at The Black Horse and our Children’s Menu offers a range of  quality, home-cooked dishes suitable for children up to 10 years old.  Children over 10 years can still order from the children’s menu if they wish, but if they fancy something more substantial they can choose from our main menus, as the majority of our dishes can be served as half portions at a reduced price.  Our staff are also happy to cater for any particular food requests your child may have, as we understand the importance of keeping your little ones happy.

Dietary Requirements

We strive to cater for all dietary requirements; as long as you let our team know in advance, our chefs are happy to discuss any particular requests prior to you dining at The Black Horse.

Every dish on our menu that is gluten free (gf) and dairy free (df) or is gluten free adaptable (gfa) and dairy free adaptable (dfa) is clearly marked, making it easy for those of you who suffer with gluten and/or dairy intolerance to see what dishes are available for you to enjoy – without the discomfort later!

We also offer a range of gluten free beer and wine.

MENUS CHILDREN'S MENU

Our Drinks

We are as serious about the drink we sell as the food we serve and aim to cater for everyone’s taste.  Our real ales are carefully selected and served on draught, along with premium craft lagers and stout.  As well as the well-known brands we also pride ourselves on offering more unique names; award winning British handcrafted Camden Hells, Mahou and Beavertown Neck Oil IPA lagers and ales, Nirvana Pilsner 0.5% and Saxby’s Original Cider. Of course, no visit to Ireland would be complete without a pint of Guinness, so you’ll always find it on offer here at The Black Horse.

We have an impressive range of liquors, malt whiskey, fine brandy and quality Armagnac.

We also boast an extensive choice of wine, hand-picked by the managers in conjunction with our wine supplier Ellis of Richmond established in 1822.  We strive to select hand crafted wines from small growers and award-winning wineries (both abroad and British), who share our passion for value and quality.

Our cocktails are expertly crafted from top quality ingredients, which means they taste as amazing as they look .  So if you crave something coffee, fancy something fruity or have a penchant for something posh, we have the perfect cocktail for you!

However, maybe you fancy something  a little less alcoholic!  In that case why not try one of our Green Bottle Company infused presses, Frobishers fruit juices, Fentimens botanical drinks, range of Frobisher’s Fusions and many more soft drink favourites.

We use award-winning Birchall for our tea and local Wooden Hill Coffee Company for our coffee, both big on ethical sourcing and plastic-free packaging, reducing our carbon foot-print whilst still offering you top quality taste with every sip.

We only offer full table service, so take a seat and we’ll bring the drinks to you!

Drinks

Our Awards & Accolades

The Black Horse has built up a reputation for its fine food and beautiful surroundings, which has made it amongst the best award-winning pubs in Bedfordshire.

  • Finalist of the Family Business of the Year category at the Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce SME Bedfordshire Business Awards 2026
  • Certificate of excellence – Trip Advisor
  • Traveller Review Award 2025 – Booking.com
  • Recommended by glutenfreedining.com
  • County Dining Pub of the Year 8 year’s running from 2013 to 2021 – The Good Pub Guide – with the exception of 2016, which was won by our sister site The Birch at Woburn, so we didn’t feel too bad!
  • Rated #23 in the Top 50 Gastro Pubs in Britain 2012 – Budweiser Budvar and Morning Advertiser (as voted for by top industry experts)
  • Best Country Pub 2004-05 – Period Living and Traditional Homes
  • Rated in the top 100 Best of the Pubs 2009 – Eat Out Magazine
  • Recommended in the Michelin Guide 2014
  • Recommended in the AA Guide 2014
  • Food Hygiene Rating 5*

Our Carbon Footprint

We are passionate about local food and fresh produce, so the preservation of our environment means a great deal to us.  That’s why we strive to source our ingredients from like-minded suppliers and local farms in rural Bedforshire and it’s surrounding counties.

Click here to find out more about our local suppliers and our continued commitment to reducing our carbon footprint.

FAQs

We have answered a few questions that we often get asked, however if you do not see the answer you are looking for here, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

CONTACT US

Our dress code is smart/casual.  We want you to feel special at The Black Horse so you can dress to impress, but we also want you to be comfortable and relaxed when you dine.

Dogs are not permitted in the restaurant, unless they are special assistance dogs , however dogs are welcome in our garden in the summer months, we just ask that they are kept on their lead at all times and that they, and their owners, are well behaved!

Yes, we do have highchairs.  Just write a request in the booking notes when you make your table reservation.  You will also need to add the infant as an extra guest when you book (ie, if you are a table of 4 adults and you also have a child requiring a highchair you book for a table of 5) this is to ensure the table we allocate you has enough room to accommodate the highchair as well.

Unfortunately space is limited and in the event of a fire we need to ensure all walkways are clear for people to exit safely, therefore we do not allow pushchairs or prams in the restaurant.

However we do allow car seats/carry cots and small travel pushchairs.

As we are a fully fresh restaurant and cook all our dishes from scratch, our chefs can happily cater for most dietary requirements.  You will need to inform us in advance so that our head chef can create a dish that suits your needs on the day you dine. You can contact us via email.

All the dishes on our menus show if they are gluten or dairy free or can be adapted.

Yes we do! For all tables of 9 guests and above, we ask that you email us direct so that we can make sure we can accommodate you comfortably and offer the best service and dining experience for your special occasion.  Advanced menu choices will be required.