The Last Inn, Church Aston

Star rating: *** Lisa Bailey and family enjoy a traditional Sunday lunch at a pub which is making a fresh start.

We've had quite a few meals at The Last Inn over the past few years and to be honest they've been a little hit or miss.

Then the pub made the headlines for all the wrong reasons when environmental health officers closed it down for a day after mice were found in the kitchen and the previous tenants were fined.

It has now reopened under new management, but we were still a little apprehensive when we ventured into The Last Inn for Sunday lunch.

Our initial impression was that little had changed, with the decor exactly the same. Our two-year-old son marvelled at the pink seats in the ladies' toilets, which gives you an indication of when it last changed.

But the new landlady, Glynnis Harrison, was polite and helpful when she offered us a choice of table and showed us to our seats.

There were two large parties eating their meals and a scattering of other customers.

Sunday lunch was a choice of three meats – lamb, pork and beef. There was also cannelloni and trout.

Starters seemed a little bit of an afterthought as we had already chosen our main course before we were offered them. There was a choice of salmon goujons, melon or goat' cheese. Neil and I both had a warm salad of goat's cheese served with cherry tomatoes, mixed leaves and vinaigrette.

The goat's cheese was done to perfection, but we didn't get much chance to sample the cherry tomatoes as they were disappearing off our plates as soon as a certain youngster could get his hands on them!

For our main course, Neil had beef and I had pork. Daniel had the best of both worlds as he had a bit of both.

Our main course was served with broccoli, carrots, potatoes and a tiny bit of cabbage.

There did seem to be something missing, and glancing over to the neighbouring table I found the culprit – roast potatoes. How can you have a Sunday lunch without your roasters? My father-in-law would describe that as the ultimate sin! But the hiccup was soon rectified with many apologies and double the helping of roast potatoes.

Neil said his beef was done just right as was my pork. His beef was served with Yorkshire pudding, which he thought was a little on the hard side. He also thought the gravy was a little watery, but I thought it was fine.

Daniel tucked in with plenty of gusto (well, he was a hungry boy after all his swimming in the morning) and the only word he used to describe his dinner was "delicious."

Once he had finished off the carrots on his plate he was then trying to delve into the vegetable dish on the table.

There were clean plates all round, but we managed to keep a little room for dessert. There was treacle tart, bread and butter pudding, lemon meringue cheesecake or ice cream.

I chose bread and butter pudding with custard, but I did wonder whether I had made the wrong choice when Neil's cheesecake arrived. It was a fair old chunk and looked fantastic – it was no surprise when we were told everything was homecooked.

The fluffy cheesecake was piled on a crunchy base. Neil said it was tasty and, of course, I had to sample some – it was light and not sickly in any way.

But, I wasn't distracted from my bread and butter pudding for too long, which was equally as delicious. There were also no complaints from the little one in the corner – a few scoops of ice cream and he's a happy little soul.

The landlady later told us that she and her husband John had taken over The Last Inn in October and she had been doing all the cooking herself until a chef was taken on recently.

The pub, which is owned by the chain Enterprise Inns, had also managed to bag itself three stars for improving hygiene standards under Telford & Wrekin Counci's Score on the Doors scheme.

And from what we could see the couple are doing a grand old job turning the place around and it is well worth a visit.

Sunday lunch is £6.95 for one course and £8.95 for two courses. If you have three you pay for desserts, which are £3.95.

In the week there is a varied menu and parts of it are changed every few weeks.

MENU SAMPLE

Starters

Crayfish tail cocktail (£5.95)

Smooth chicken liver paté (£4.25)

Main courses

Chicken breast stuffed with goat's cheese (£8.95)

Rack of lamb (£12.95)

Desserts

Sticky toffee pudding (£3.95)

Poached pear (£3.95)

ATMOSPHERE

Quiet

SERVICE

Friendly and efficient

DISABLED FACILITIES

There is access for wheelchairs

Contact

The Last Inn, Wellington Road, Church Aston, Newport.

Telephone 01952 820469