Food review: Vintage pub provides healthy options alongside classic food

As the new year begins to get into gear, a lot of people, myself included, have been looking at ways to cut back on fatty food and eat a bit healthier.

This can be a challenge if you are looking to eat out, with many places only offering a few healthier offerings alongside the standard burger and chips or deep fried fare.

However, some places have taken time to look at their menus and provide a nice range of lighter bites which are still hearty and filling, but without being big portions or swimming in fat.

One such place is The Vine on Wombourne High Street, a pub dating back to the 1850s and one which has built up a reputation for a decent menu and warm welcome inside a building mixing an historic look with modern interior.

The pub is part of the Vintage Inns chain, a collection of 18 country pubs dotted across the country which offers hearty favourites, country pub classics and seasonal dishes, alongside a well-stocked bar and a comfortable place to sit and eat.

Even at midday on a Friday, the car park was starting to fill up with cars full of people, with the smells from the kitchen proving enticing for those walking past.

Walking into the Vine, you can feel the modern touches, with blue paint on the wooden beams, walls painted white with a mixture of pictures and portraits and a nice mixture of seating, from the leather sofas to wooden and padded seating.

You’re made to feel comfortable from when you walk in, with the staff warmly greeting you and leading you to a table, if you’ve pre-booked, or finding you a spot to sit at if not.

I was placed on a single table near a couple of windows, which look out onto the High Street and further out onto the South Staffordshire countryside, and given a few minutes to check the menu and see what the “healthier” options were.

The Vine gives you plenty of options for starting your meal, from small bites such as mini chorizo sausage to sharers including Camembert and chutney, while the stand-alone starters are a mixture of cold items like pate and more artisan offerings like duck and orange parfait.

As stated, I was looking for simple and not overly stodgy, so asked about the soup of the day. After being told it was leek and potato, I decided to give it a try, along with a bottle of Pine Trail alcohol-free pale ale - a very floral and citrusy drink with a nice taste and something you can drink if you want a beer, but without the alcoholic edge to it.

My soup duly arrived in a ceramic bowl with a big piece of sourdough bread on the side, glistening with that lovely layer of fat on top that some places keep and others get rid of.

Getting a grip of the spoon and taking a taste, I got the leek taste straight away, not too over-powering and adding a nice crisp flavour to the soup, which had lots of lumps of potato in there and felt like a full meal in itself.

Dipping the bread in and only needing to add a bit of pepper for taste, the soup was a good start to the meal, warming and hearty without being overly filling and definitely leaving space for my main course.

Being a pub, the Vine offers a fine range of meals from the grill, including a fillet or rib-eye steak with several sauce options and sides which include prawns, mushrooms and salads, while the skewers include king prawns, chicken thighs, lamb and halloumi, for vegetarians.

If you want a burger, there’s three options, although all a bit highly priced for me as it would have to be a really good burger to cost £17.95, plus £1.50 for jalapenos, and a number of classic mains, including Penang curry, seared fillets of sea bass, pork belly, lamb and a pie of the day.

You could also have a pizza, with three types on offer, or a salad mixed with chicken, duck or lamb, or if you are eating between 12pm and 5pm, the lunch menu offers some simpler, but also very tasty fare, again with slightly high prices, although I think you pay for what you get if you want quality.

I chose a fish finger sandwich from the lunch menu, which promised and came as battered cod goujons with tartare sauce in a rustic roll and a cup of fries on the side.

As fish finger sandwiches go, it was pretty good, with a nice zing from the tartare sauce and a crunchy bread roll which mixed with the goujons, although I’d hoped for a bigger sandwich with more fish in it.

It filled a hole, however, and left me ready for dessert, with the menu offering a really diverse range of offerings, starting with British traditions like sticky toffee pudding and apple, blackcurrant and cherry crumble and ice cream.

Alongside that are more intriguing options like crème brulee, blackcurrant torte and mango and passion fruit pavlova, but I was looking for simple and reasonably low fat, so I made the choice to get the British Cheese Board.

What arrives is a plate full of Double Gloucester, Cheddar, Brie and Shropshire Blue, served with grapes, savoury biscuits and caramelised onion chutney, a plate full of flavour and variety and, for me, really good value for up to two people.

The different cheeses mixed well with the tangy chutney and the sturdy biscuits ensured I wasn’t covered in crumbs or bits of cheese, so I was able to enjoy a filling dessert and polish off the grapes afterwards (which could be viewed as free food and palate cleansers).

Overall, the food was good, although I’d have liked a bit more sandwich for my main, but that was a small complaint alongside a nice meal inside a pub with a pleasant environment and, in the 40 minutes I was there, was starting to fill up with diners and drinkers.

Give it a go and see what healthy options work for you. 8/10

The Vine, High Street, Wombourne, Wolverhampton, WV5 9DT

Sample Menu

Starters

Mini Chorizo Sausages - £4.95

Crispy Calamari - £7.25

Beetroot and Pumpkin Seed Arancini - £7.50

Today’s Soup - £6.50

Main Course

7oz Fillet Steak - £28.75

BBQ Chicken Thighs skewer - £17.50

Signature Burger - £17.95

Slow-Cooked Pork Belly - £18.25

Forestiere Chicken Breast - £17.50

Spicy Pepperoni Pizza - £15.75

Lunch Menu

8oz Gammon Steak - £15.95

Hot Beef Brisket Sandwich - £11.50

Fish Finger Sandwich - £10.95

Sides

Belgian Fries - £3.95

Halloumi Fries - £3.95

Dauphinoise Potato - £3.50

Desserts

Sticky Toffee Pudding - £7.25

British Cheese Board - £9.95

Indulgent Double Chocolate Brownie - £7.75