Hanmer Arms Hotel, Hanmer

Star rating: *** The Hanmer Arms on the north Shropshire border has travelled full circle over the last 10 years.

It had a wonderful reputation as a traditional restaurant, specialising in its carvery which would draw in diners from across a large area.

But sadly a change of hands left the hotel floundering. And, after an appearance on the television series The Hotel Inspectors, the Hanmer Arms closed.

Thankfully, the hotel has reopened and is now enjoying a new lease of life.

Owners Geoff and Gill Leigh-Ford have successfully owned and run many businesses in the hospitality sector. Originally from South Manchester, they have tested their entrepreneural skills far and wide including Cheshire, Val D'Iseres, Paris, Devon, the Greek Islands and the depths of Wales.

And, while they have revived the hotel's famous carvery - £8.95 before 7pm and £9.95 after - they have completely updated the menu and brought a new speciality to the area, seafood.

Although only a 10 minute drive from our house, we had not been to the Hanmer Arms for more than five years and I had heard mixed comments about the new look hotel.

So it was with some trepidation that we literally breezed in on a very wild and windy night.

I need not have worried as we enjoyed an excellent evening.

The Hanmer Arms is a venue for all seasons. It is set in the picturesque village of Hanmer, midway between Ellesmere and Whitchurch and summer visitors can enjoy a walk along its beautiful mere before or even after their meal.

The hotel offers a special deal for coach trips, lunch or afternoon parties with, its website reveals, the coach driver eating for free!

It is in the middle of some good if not challenging cycling country and a perfect place to go for a pub lunch or a sandwich as part of a long bike ride.

But in the winter the hotel has all the charm needed to warm you up on the coldest of days. It was a very welcoming atmosphere; the roaring log fire in the lounge where the dining tables were set was very much appreciated on a stormy night.

From the car park we had to walk through the empty function and larger restaurant area to find the livelier part of the hotel - a little disconcerting.

But arriving in the bar/lounge area the waiter immediately put us at ease with his gentle voice and gentlemanly nature.

There were a healthy number of local people enjoying a night out without food and several tables already being served meals.

Mel and I had opted to join our local running club for a gruelling five mile run before a swift shower and a late meal.

We were both pretty hungry after our exertions so were very grateful when, having taken our order, the delightful waiter returned with our drinks and a basket of bread.

It was beautiful bread, soft and tasty, brown and white and we gratefully tucked in.

Our starters arrived and Mel's eyes were like saucers. His choice, Black Tiger King Prawns with sweet chilli noodles, £6.75, was huge, served in a tortilla type shell and with a large leaf salad on the side.

It was, he said, delicious, one of the best starters he had ever had and, persuading him to let me have a taste, I had to agree. The noodles had just the right hot taste from the chilli and the huge prawns were moist and tender. I was so jealous. The one drawback of eating for a review is trying not to have the same dish as your partner as this is something I would have definitely chosen myself.

My fish soup, £6.25, was also good, although I had expected it to be more like the French boulebaisse rather than a cream soup. It was served beautifully, however, with side dishes of garlic and saffron mayonaise and grated cheese, taking me back to my childhood when we had oxtail soup with grated cheese sprinkled into it.

There is a good, varied menu at the Hanmer Arms with traditional and modern dishes, meat, seafood and vegetarian.

But I carried on with the seafood theme, unable to resist the half lobster for £14.95. Again presentation was perfect, the lobster sitting on a large bed of salad and new potatoes. My first time with lobster, I was expecting a bit of a battle. But the flesh had already been taken out of the shell, mixed with a creamy white wine and Dijon mustard sauce, returned to the shell and glazed with cheese sauce.

I have to say that it was the one time that I actually felt sorry for the 'thing' that I was eating. I hastily put visions of lobsters in the sea out of my mind.

Mel's Denbigh entrecote steak (£16.95) came with chunky chips, a whole cooked tomato and homemade onion rings - an excellent idea and much much nicer that the frozen variety served at probably 90 per cent of establishments.

We were also given a platter of vegetables to share.

A sign behind the bar said that the hotel used local produce and would be pleased to talk to local growers - an excellent idea. I made a mental note to plant out all those butternut squash seedlings growing from the seeds I collected in the autumn!

Poor Mel. His enormous starter and that bread were taking their toll and he struggled to finish his main course. The large jug of pepper sauce that he had chosen to accompany his meal was also a little rich, he said.

But I'd enjoyed two lighter meals, so even though I had polished off a couple of slices of that wonderful bread and most of our side of vegetables, I still decided I had room for dessert.

Running up and down Ellesmere's Church Hill at the end of our training run had made me ravenous.

I was so glad I had as my orange and lemon cheesecake was most definitely homemade. And the toasted almonds on the top certainly made the dish - sorry chef, but I copied the idea for my Mother's Day tiramisu on the Sunday!

After reading the review you may wonder why I've only awarded three and not the four stars that the food most definitely deserved.

It wasn't because of the diner close to us who never stopped to draw breath, incessantly chattering for the entire two hours were were there.

It was because of the tables. When we were shown to our table it was the very same table we had sat at when our now 5ft 10ins teenager was a little lad revelling in his sausage and chips kids meal.

Not just in the same spot by the fire, the same table.

All those years ago I had remarked it needed sanding down and French polishing and, years later it was still in need of renovation!

The meals deserved much better. All that was needed were some tablecloths, crisp and white or perhaps a dark green rustic alternative to complement slate tablemats. For the want of a tablecloth a star was lost!

ADDRESS

The Hanmer Arms, Hanmer

01948 830532

MENU SAMPLE

Starters

Haddock and salmon fish cakes £5.95; Chicken Liver Pate with toast and a rocket Salad accompanied by balsamic vinegar £5.75

Main courses

Chicken Petitoria with a sauce of tomatoes, peppers, garlic, thyme and rosemary on saffron rice £11.95; Seared tuna steak with a creamed potato baked in pastry with wine, balsamic and rosemary sauce £16.95; Wild mushroom risotto with parmesan and salad £9.95

Sides

Garlic bread with mozzarella £2.65; Mixed Salad £2.20

Desserts

Homemade Chocolate Roulade £3.95; Sticky Toffee Pudding served with Ice Cream £3.95

ATMOSPHERE

Restaurant meals in a country pub setting.

SERVICE

Excellent. Friendly and attentive, not obstrusive.

DISABLED FACILITIES

Double door at the car park entrance might cause problems for wheelchairs

By Sue Austin