White Horse Inn, Pulverbatch

Although Shrewsbury has a bounty of good pubs and restaurants it's always worth trying what's outside of the town and The White Horse at Pulverbatch definitely proved this point, writes Russell Roberts.

A traditional historic country pub in all respects, the grand white building with a heavy horse in the field and the old beams and homely feel inside makes this a real country gem on the county's gastronomy map.

The pub is partly 14th or 15th century in origin and was extensively re-modelled early in the 17th century and was a farmhouse until the 19th century.

Set in the beautiful village of Pulverbatch, close to the Shropshire Hills, it is a perfect choice for a good hearty meal.

You can often get a feel for what's coming from the welcome you receive and the service at the White Horse was nothing but warm and welcoming.

With it being a Sunday night the pub was quiet following the lunchtime trade so it was nice to have the option of sitting in the pub area or the restaurant.

After perusing the menu my partner Alison and I both decided three courses was the way forward so to get things started I went for the tomato and basil soup with fresh bread, while Alison opted for the garlic mushrooms served on a toast base.

The first thing that pleased me was the speed in which our food was ready.

The pub provide table trivia cards to amuse you while waiting for your food which was brilliant fun for us both but happily our game was interrupted with the arrival of our starters.

My soup was warm and freshly prepared and tasted very good indeed. The bread and the butter provided with it was plentiful, although one slight criticism was the butter was a little too hard to spread.

Alison's mushrooms were also very nice indeed, I could tell she was impressed as soon as they were brought out as they were beautifully presented and tasted superb.

After the starters we resumed our battle of minds with the table trivia (with me winning at this point!) and again our main course arrived shortly after.

I chose the traditional pub dish of a trio of sausages with creamy mashed potato, onion gravy, carrots and spring greens while Alison picked scampi in a home-made batter with minted peas, chips and tartare sauce.

The meals were both proper pub grub with large portions to fill us both up. My sausages were well cooked and very tasty and the mash I was very impressed with as you could tell it was cooked fresh and not just microwaved mush.

Alison was even more impressed with the scampi as it was like no other she had tasted. She loved the fact it was easy to see it had just been battered and commented that the fish was delicious.

The only criticism were the chips on Alison's plate. They were unfortunately a little under-cooked and she described them as anaemic. They did let the dish down a bit because with so much attention being put into the fish it was a shame they hadn't made their own home cooked chips to accompany it.

After a couple of drinks to help our food go down we felt we could just about manage to squeeze in a pudding, after all with the menu sounding so delicious it would be rude to leave without trying one.

After a lot of indecision and changing our minds I went for the raspberry and elderflower cheesecake. Alison with the clear intention of knowing that if she has something different she can steal some of mine - her usual trick - went for the vanilla panacotta.

Neither of us were disappointed. The cheesecake was a little rich and was very filling but it was truly delicious and I have to put it up there with one of the best I have ever had (sorry mum).

Alison's panacotta was equally as good with a very easy-to-eat smooth texture. She was very happy. It was rich and creamy and if she had room I know she would have eaten the same all over again.

So at the end of a few hours we both left the pub very happy people.

ADDRESS

The White Horse Inn, Longden Road, Pulverbatch, near Shrewsbury SY5 8DS

Tel: 01743 718247

MENU SAMPLE

STARTERS

Olives with fresh bread £3; Field mushrooms filled with sweet chilli beef strips £4.95; Goats Cheese & Bacon Salad £4.95

MAIN COURSES

Grilled Sirloin Steak with mushrooms, tomato, onion rings, peas & chips £13.95; Fillet of salmon poached with mustard & dill served with crushed new potatoes & fresh vegetables £9.25; Mushroom, roasted pepper & parmesan risotto, with crusty bread £7.95

DESSERTS

Rhubarb & ginger brulee, lavender shortbread £4.50; Pear crumble with fresh custard £4.50

ATMOSPHERE

Relaxed country pub feel

SERVICE

Warm, welcoming and efficient

DISABLED FACILITIES

Disabled access available