Bandon Arms, Bridgnorth

finds yet another reason to travel to Bridgnorth, in addition to the steam railway.

My family usually only visits Bridgnorth for one reason: the Severn Valley Railway. As a two-year-old with a love for anything noisy, our son Louis regularly nags us with the word "trains", and off we go.

To be honest, its not too much of a chore to visit one of Shropshire's prettiest towns - and now, we have another reason to take a jaunt along the A442.

Nestling on the first island in Bridgnorth, the Bandon Arms is passed by motorists every day and perhaps, receives little attention. But those drivers should really take a closer look, which is what we did. It was a Saturday evening when we visited, and the place was bustling. nevertheless, we felt welcome straight away

Despite the huge amount of work facing the staff on duty, they were immediately charming.

Clearly, the interior has been given the typical 'pastel revamp', with trendy shades of beige and fancy artwork. We did, however, still feel at home. The menu was huge and after five minutes of poring over the main offerings, we realised there was more on the specials board.

In the end, I went for the lamb pepperpot, while Claire had the Hawaiian gammon.

Louis decided on the chicken nugget option and spent much of the evening feeding the imaginary cat underneath his high-chair. And the one on the ceiling, and the walls.

My lamb pepperpot was essentially a lamb stew, with a twist of peppercorn and what seemed to be some mild spices. It was superb, although a little small.

I had initially thought that the flavour of the lamb would be drowned out by the peppercorn, but those fears were unfounded. The meat completely dominated the dish, with the pepper only providing a useful mate on the side.

As I said, I was a tad disappointed with the size. Although we ordered under the two-for-one menu, the basic price of my dish was £13. If I had paid that price, it would have been quite poor value.

It came with a big lump of crusty bread, but that was of little consequence.

Claire's Hawaiian gammon was just that. A great big juicy hunk of meat covered with cheese and pieces of pineapple.

The gammon itself was, as I said, really thick and juicy with very little fat, while the cheese was a slightly unusual addition, but very welcome nonetheless.

It came with the usual mountain of chips, which received very little regard, such was the attention demanded by the gammon.

Once we had worked our way through the main courses, it was time to switch attention to desserts.

Once again, I chose from the specials board and went for the neapolitan pancakes, while Claire had the banoffee sundae.

I'm at a bit of a loss at how to describe my dessert. It's not that it was poorly made, or badly presented - rather, I just didn't like it very much.

I am usually a fan of pancakes and I adore neapolitan ice cream, but the two together just didn't do the trick. Nothing to do with quality, just my rather faddy palette.

Anyway, Claire's sundae was a little bit more of a success. The banana and caramel ice cream combined beautifully, and were joined by lashings of sauce.

It was certainly big enough and had Louis not been on the verge of sleep, we would have offered him some. Well, perhaps.

Claire also reported that it was just on the right side of being oversweet - another few mouthfuls would have led to a monumental sugar rush.

As we finished our meals, it became increasingly obvious that customers at the bar were eyeing our table.

Not that we felt uncomfortable, of course, rather we didn't want to hang around too long.

It would have been unfair to deny others the joys of what we had just experienced. Apart from the nuggets on the walls, of course.

ADDRESS

Bandon Arms, Mill Street, Bridgnorth WV15 5AG

Tel: 01746 -763135

Web: www.bandonarmspub.co.uk

MENU SAMPLE

STARTERS

Little Haddock Kievs £3.9; Prawn cocktail £3.55

MAIN COURSES

Sirloin Steak £11.95; Red Leicester Chicken £9.25

DESSERTS

Irish Cream Cheesecake £3.55; Lemon Bakewell £3.55

ATMOSPHERE

Busy!

SERVICE

Friendly and we were made to feel welcome straight away, despite the number of customers

DISABLED FACILITIES

Much of the pub is on one level and there are toilets for the disabled