Henry Tudor House, Shrewsbury

We've all done it. We've all had a bad day at the office. Fortunately for most of us, we can dismiss it as such. Sadly, if you're in the hospitality business, a bad day at the 'office' can impact greatly on an otherwise perfectly pleasant experience.

So it is unfortunate that on the day I chose to visit one of Shrewsbury's newer eateries that is exactly what happened.

I'd heard a lot of positive noises about Henry Tudor House, the bar and restaurant that has opened up in what was the Old Lion Tap pub in Barracks Passage, off Wyle Cop. A number of people had recommended it and reviews on sites like Trip Advisor seemed to back them up.

The new venue opened last year after a year-long refurbishment which has completely transformed one of Shrewsbury's most historic buildings, reputed to have got its name when Henry Tudor stayed at the site on his way to victory over Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

I'd actually been into the bar of the Henry Tudor House just a couple of weeks before deciding to eat there. Myself and my dining companion for the evening had popped in for a drink on the way to a concert at the Buttermarket.

The décor and atmosphere on that visit impressed me. We sat in the snug which was to become our dining area on the return visit and enjoyed a pleasant hour or so before departing.

It was whilst there that we flicked through the menu and saw enough on it to persuade us to come back and try the food.

Everything started well. When I phoned to book, the pleasant chap on the end of the phone told me he would give us a table in one of the booths, despite them technically being for parties of four to six people. Should they get a lot more booking, he warned, we would have to move to a smaller table. But as this was a Wednesday night, I felt we would be okay. As it turned out, we were.

Upon arrival we were given a warm welcome before ordering drinks at the bar (a gin and tonic at £5 and a pint of Shropshire Gold at £3.30) and repairing to a nearby table for a chat, being offered the chance to peruse the menu there, or wait until we were seated for our meal. We chose the latter.

Upon being seated we had to request, rather than being offered, a wine menu. A slight oversight, I thought, but not something worth making a fuss about. We ordered a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc at £29.50.

My dining companion, who knows a lot more about these sorts of things than I do, chatted with our waiter about the various wines on the menu, creating a very pleasant atmosphere.

We decided to share a starter, as the artisan meat platter (£14) seemed too good to resist. I chose an old favourite of mine, lamb shank (£13.90) to follow, while my companion selected a mushroom risotto (£11) from the 'inbetweener' menu - a choice of dishes which can be selected as a starter or a main course.

As we waited for a first course to arrive our wine made its way past our table to a very confused-looking couple sat next to us. "Umm, I think that might be ours," I ventured, again prepared to overlook this minor blip.

The platter was a lovely way to start the meal. A spread of Parma ham, chorizo, salami and bresaola all from Wenlock Edge Farm, served with game pate, pickles, relish and fresh bread.

After a short gap to allow our starter to go down, the mains arrived.

My lamb shank, served with onion gravy on a bed of mash was delightful. The meat was tender and juicy and just fell away from the bone, the mash light and fluffy. My companion raised fears that there was no extra veg, but I assured her anything more would have been too much (a side dish of veg was available for an extra £3).

The risotto was a different matter. While you couldn't argue with the size of the portion or its beautiful presentation, it was very salty. Something my fellow diner could have done with realising before adding salt to the dish!

And so we moved to dessert. I went for a creme brulee (£5) while my companion opted for the cheese board (£8) which came with pear and ginger chutney and Shropshire biscuits.

It was here that the night went from a few niggles to the dropping of a major clanger. Salt again played its part. The creme brulee tasted almost entirely of It. The caramel topping was inedible. Which is a shame, because when I dug underneath to the custard base it was nice.

We mentioned this to our waitress, but only at the end of the meal. By then the kitchen had closed. I should have raised it earlier. I'm assured another would have been brought straight out.

I have been told since that, in classic sitcom fashion, someone had mixed up the salt and the sugar.

The cheese, I'm pleased to say, was fine. The usual suspects were in place, all fresh, and the chutney was delicious - tangy and crunchy.

We rounded the night off with a glass of port (£5.80), a glass of Jack Daniels (£3) and thoughts of what might have been.

Others are still recommending the Henry Tudor House as a place to go. I will probably return in the hope that I can just put this down to a bad day at the office.

ADDRESS

Henry Tudor House, Barracks Passage, Wyle Cop, Shrewsbury SY1 1XA

Tel: 01743 361666

Web: www.facebook.com/henrytudorhouse

MENU SAMPLE

STARTERS

Prawn, shrimp and crayfish cocktail with marie-rose sauce and dressed pea shoots (£6.50)

Soup of the day (£4.50)

MAINS

8oz steak burger with melted mozzarella, tomato, onion, homemade coleslaw, salad, pickles and chunky chips (£10.50)

Goats cheese and beet salad with cos, watercress, candy and golden beets (£11)

DESSERTS

Pancakes with caramelised pineapple and rum and raisin ice cream (£5.50)

Homemade apple crumble with cinnamon ice cream (£5)

ATMOSPHERE

Busy without being noisy. A nice buzz.

SERVICE

Mostly good.

DISABLED FACILITIES

Toilets easily accessible