The Blue Boar, Ludlow - food review

Among the many salacious and downright dodgy entries is one that begins: 'We apologise for Blue Boar in Ludlow'. It's too intriguing to ignore.

A double click leads to a blog by a local politician and author who accurately describes a tale of woe. It reminds readers of a time when The Blue Boar was described by a local police sergeant as being 'akin to Magaluf'. The patrons of The Blue Boar had a 'do what they want, drink what they want culture'.

There are tales of fights, underage sales, security being unable to calm things down and residents in their 70s and 80s who'd been forced into the street late at night to complain about the noise.

It wasn't just local politicians, police and residents who found bones to pick. At the time, the pub's TripAdvisor scores read like those that you might expect on a school report by a disruptive kid who was days from explusion.

Four 'excellent' ratings and five 'very good' were outweighed by four 'poor' and – wait for it – 20 that described The Blue Boar as 'terrible'. Get that. One in six customers were likely to have a great time. Five out of six 52 Mill St, Ludlow, SY8 1BB were likely to experience a kitchen nightmare.

Which is why I feel a bit sorry for the team who now run the re-vamped, re-imagined, re-booted Blue Boar.

While it was once one of the dodgiest pubs in the county, it's now among the best. They're working tirelessly to shake off the reputation that they once had – and, don't worry, I get the irony, writing about it and dredging up the past doesn't help.

And yet, curiously, looking back at the pub's recent history is important. Because that's the only way to get a sense of perspective on how far The Blue Boar has come in such a short space of time.

It's like the runner who finished last but who now wins gold. It's like the ugly duckling that became a swan. It's like the can't-sing, can't-dance entertainer who's now wowing the crowds at The Palladium with the best show in town.

A couple of years ago, it was rowdy and anti-social. These days, it's a model of how things should be done.

The man behind the transformation is Adam Tutt. Well-known in Ludlow for creating the brilliant Chang Thai Bar, he put his hand in his pocket to refit the pub and turn it into a venue that's valued and loved by the community. So, these days, instead of young hoodlums – and what a delicious word 'hoodlums' is – the bar is packed with a mixture of young 'uns and the genteel retirees of Broad Street and Mill Street.

An upper room is used as a film club, by the local LGBT community, a book club, by those involved in community arts and by other creative types. There's a quiz – apparently, it's a right laugh – and other normal pub activities to which all-comers are welcome.

The venue is unfussy and unpretentious. There's the obligatory boar's head on the wall – though it's quirky wallmates are a stuffed rat's head and the amusing stuffed head of a deer who's been decorated with a string of pearls. A rabbit with a dickie bow is similarly funny.

The atmosphere is resolutely 'pub' rather than 'gastro' or 'restaurant'. There are no airs and graces. The brilliant and youthful pub manager – Emily, a woman who somehow manages to pull off a punk-ish hairstyle that involves shaving one side of her head but not the other – makes things tick. Friendly, funny and polite, she's quick and courteous, she knows the regulars by their first name and her middle name is 'efficient'.

The Blue Boar circa 2017 has simple aims: to supply home-cooked food in a relaxed and sociable environment, to make the most of great local suppliers and to offer decent quality ales such as Hobsons and Three Tuns. They don't do starched table cloths or frilly stacked-and-drizzled meals; The Blue Boar is all about great quality, fresh-cooked, homemade pub food.

Their menu, therefore, focuses on sausages and mash, fish and chips, vegetable lasagne, beef sandwiches and homemade chicken liver paté. Desserts are just as simple – though how anybody could manage one given the portion sizes is beyond me – with lemon meringue and chocolate cheesecake among the tried and tested staples.

My friend and I both made a beeline for the chicken Kiev with new potatoes and veg. At £9.95, it was a bargain. And, luckily for my pal, I stepped aside and he got to order it. It was, quite literally, a case of Winner Winner Chicken Dinner. The crumb surrounding the Kiev was golden and crisp, the flesh was deliciously moist and tender, the garlic butter that flooded his plate was beautifully seasoned and intoxicatingly indulgent. Gah. I hate it. But I'd have loved the Kiev.

I've skipped ahead, of course, for both of us had starters.

He ate a baked camembert that was perhaps a little too garlicky. Served with a nicely-dressed salad and bread upon which to scoop the melted cheese, he made short work of it. I ate a ham terrine with chutney and seeded toast, with a similar salad. It was good. The ham was sweet, seasoned with wholegrain mustard and deliciously tender.

My main was a steak burger. The restaurant manager asked how I'd like it cooked – why can't all waiting staff do that – and it was served medium, so that meaty juices oozed all over the toasted sesame bun. It was very good. The meat was tasty and tender and unlike many venues, the beef pattie was slim and wide, rather than inedibly-thick. The chips were pretty good too, while the garnishes that came with the burger hit the spot.

We skipped dessert. The portion sizes had been absurdly generous and good value and neither of us could muster the enthusiasm or stomach-space to try a chocolate and orange torte, however delicious it might have been. The bill was perfectly good value at £43 for two courses and a couple of drinks each and we had an enjoyable evening.

The Blue Boar deserves a high mark, not because it offers food that dazzles or entices but because it does the basics really, really well. Burger and chips, fish and chips, sausage and mash – when they're done well and served by staff who wear a smile . . . what's not to like?

Chef Tutt and his team deserve rich congratulation for transforming one of Ludlow's down and outs into one of its most valuable assets. A good menu, great staff and well-cooked food: The Blue Boar has become one of Ludlow's modern-day success stories.

By Andy Richardson