Odfellows, Shifnal

Reviewer's rating * Whenever Claire and I take young Louis out to eat, we expect to receive a certain level of basic service, writes reviewer James Shaw.

A grinning 20-month-old is perhaps not to the liking of every diner, but we have never felt out of place, shunned, or even unwanted. That's the beauty of living and eating out in Shropshire.

Well, until now.

Although Odfellows in Shifnal is attractive enough and clearly has a large clientelle, nothing could have prepared us for the evening ahead.

We arrived just after 6pm, and while the eating area was relatively quiet, the bar was full and had a healthy buzz of conversation. Our table was cosy enough, but there was no place for Louis.

Now, I should say straight away that there were no signs telling us that children are not welcome and staff were certainly aware of Louis's presence.

Indeed, if we had been told that children cannot eat there, we would have grumbled a little, but ultimately, chosen somewhere else to visit.

The first sign of a problem was the lack of baby seats, even though the menu proudly boasts a selection of junior dishes. We were told the pub/wine bar simply does not have any. And before we even got round to ordering food, our son delivered another problem - where to change his nappy?

Usually, a quick search will reveal a cosy little table in the toilets, with a changing mat, towels, and perhaps even talcum powder. Not here - and this is where our concerns became serious. I was told the pub does not have any changing facilities either, and was then asked to "change him on the bench seat" by our table.

Bearing in mind there were other people in the pub, this was a huge problem, especially in terms of hygiene. There is no need to go further than that - suffice to say we felt hugely embarrassed.

By now, Louis had announced his presence and drinks for all three of us were very much on the agenda. I had a pint of lager shandy, while Claire chose a diet Coke . . . and that was it. The waitress failed to ask for Louis' order and had to be called back to fetch his obligatory juice.

Naturally enough, we assumed this would be the end of the matter. Wrong. It wasn't long before were we ready to order food and the same waitress took our order, but once again, it was for just the two of us.

We felt ridiculous at having to call back a waitress for a second time in ten minutes. To completely ignore a customer, however young he may be, is unacceptable and to be honest, we were gobsmacked. There was an apology, or course, but the damage had been done.

By this point, the quality of the food was becoming a little bit irrelevant, but we were hungry enough and decide to plough on.

I asked for one of the specials - pork medallions in a lentil and apple sauce, while Claire had the Odburger. Louis chose free range chicken nuggets with hand-cut chips.

My pork, I have to admit, was delicious and really full of flavour, although the sauce did it few favours. There wasn't enough and it just didn't add anything to the dish.

Across the table, Claire was suffering a dilemma. Her burger was huge and arrived with a hefty mountain of chips, onion rings and salad. But bearing in mind she is six-months pregnant, her tastebuds were too finely attuned to the rather heavy dose of onions inside the burger.

She had to leave most of her main course and from the chunks that I managed to steal, the flavour was very heavily influenced by those pesky onions.

I am aware that it was probably made in the traditional way, but the flavour was just too sharp.

A mixed affair - and it was the same with our desserts. I went for the berry crunch, while Claire had home-made apple pie, with custard.

My berry crunch was just a little bit bland - it contained crunchy pieces, a handful of berries and cream. I suppose some people will appreciate the mild taste, but I just didn't enjoy it.

Claire's apple pie, however, was a bit of a revelation and emerged as the highlight of the evening. Beneath the thick pastry was a deep layer of lovely, chunky apple, along with delicious custard.

It certainly didn't save the evening, but it was a superb way to finish a disappointing meal. We were left wondering why the rest of our meal couldn't have been so enjoyable.

So why the slightly cold welcome? We were told by one member of staff that they don't often have children eating there, hence the lack of baby seats and changing facilities. A fair point, I suppose, and the customers we saw didn't have any children with them. But that doesn't excuse the way we were treated and unfortunately, one star is all that Odfellows deserves from our visit.

I suspect, however, that the regular customers will argue that it deserves four stars at least and perhaps they do get that level of service.

They certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves.

ADDRESS

Odfellows, Market Place, Shifnal, TF11 9AU

Telephone 01952 461517

MENU SAMPLE

STARTERS

Grilled goats cheese (£4.95); salmon and coriander fishcakes (£6.25)

MAIN COURSES

Oven-roasted duck breast (£13.95); creamy mushroom and thyme pappardelle (£10.95)

DESSERTS

Odley indulgent ice cream sundae (£4.50); summer pudding (£4.95)

ATMOSPHERE

The bar area was certainly full of happy people who were clearly enjoying themselves

SERVICE

Not great and although there were apologies, we couldn't excuse how we were treated

DISABLED FACILITIES

There are toilets for the disabled and a ramp is provided for wheelchairs

Right of reply:

I write as manager of Odfellows Wine Bar, Shifnal. Odfellows was reviewed by James Shaw in last Saturday's Shropshire Star and rather subjectively (perhaps even childishly?) credited by him with a "One Star" rating.

Mr. Shaw's main criticism concerns the service provided for his 20 month old son. Odfellows Wine Bar is an adult establishment serving predominantly adult customers and we make no apology for this. Regular and new customers are welcome to bring well behaved and supervised children with them and we do have menu choices for their "little cadets".

Unlike some children's menus we prepare homemade dishes with wholesome, ethically sourced ingredients. However we are not running the type of licensed premise that specifically sets out to attract families with young children. We decided a long time ago not to install a play area, freely available nappy changing facilities or high chairs.

There are many establishments aimed at attracting large numbers of young children but, whilst we are family friendly, we are not one of them and think most of our customers are grateful for that.

Whilst describing his own main course as "delicious" the criticism continued as the home made Odburger (one of our best selling items) ordered by Mr. Shaw's pregnant partner was too large and did not suit her taste buds which he says were "too finely attuned" due to her expectant condition. (Apparently she ordered the Classic burger which comes with extra fried onions and mozzarella and then according to Mr. Shaw's article objected to the "heavy dose of onions"?).

The highlight of the meal was of course our apple pie which had a "layer of lovely chunky apple" – shame we hadn't actually got apple pie on when they came.

We would be running a curious, and probably not very profitable, Wine Bar indeed trying to satisfy the two niche markets represented by the customers accompanying Mr. Shaw? (Perhaps more imaginary dishes – rather than imaginative ones – would help?).

Odfellows is highly successful and Mr. Shaw ends his piece by saying that regular customers "certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves" – thank you – they do.

Perhaps if you send a grown up next time we will get a more balanced review and a few more stars? Personally I can't wait.

Yours faithfully,

Matthew Jones