Old Orleton, Wellington : Shropshire Star:

Rating: **** Not having ventured into the premises now known as The Old Orleton in Wellington for many years, I was in for a pleasant surprise on a recent visit.I had found the former Falcon Hotel nothing much to shout about, but you should see it now. It has been transformed under new ownership into a trendy and modern gastronomic delight.

The walls are painted contemporary coffee and the stylish uber-cool furniture includes red leather tub chairs and grey suede-style cube stools imported from Belgium and Amsterdam.

New owners Peter Ottley and Paul Turpin had obviously been busy since buying it in February 2005.

Their plan to transform its interior into an upbeat, contemporary venue has definitely worked, although the ambitious plans to also improve its 14 bedrooms and add an extension — which will include a holiday apartment for anyone requiring disabled facilities — are ongoing.

The duo are locals who owned and ran the well known Oliver’s Bistro in Ironbridge for 16 years. The hotel is a former coaching in. The cellars date back to the 1500s although other sections of the building date back to the 16th century and the largest part is from the 17th Century. It is Grade II listed which lies on the main A5 which was once a Roman road.

Myself and Simon had chosen a festive Friday night to brave the cold and walk to the venue. It’s popularity was obvious. It was packed with couples and groups of family and friends, many of whom were 30-something and above.

The restaurant was closed between Christmas and New Year for improvement works. We could however still have a three course meal in the brasserie.

The brasserie menu had enough choice to interest the palate, although I am still determined to one day try out the restaurant. While we decided what to order I enjoyed a large glass of red wine (£4) while Simon had a pint of Carlsberg Export (£2.70).

For starters I chose Feta Cheese and Olives (£4.75) and Simon chose a vegetarian option of chestnut and pepper pate (£4.75). I was hungry and so for my main course I was tempted by the lamb shepherds pie.

Simon chose bacon and pork sausage with a tomato sauce. All the main courses cost £9.95 and include a bowl of saute potatoes and a bowl of salad.

I am not sure if we should have each received a bowl of potatoes and a bowl of salad but we were served just with the one bowl of each, although it was ample.

I enjoyed the olives which were thankfully pitted — it does not do much for romance if you are sat there trying to delicately spit out stones in front of your partner!. The Feta cheese portion was fresh and ample and I enjoyed my starter, which was accompanied by tasty small white and brown bread rolls.

They also came in handy for Simon’s chestnut and pepper pate. This was obviously freshly made. It was slightly coarse and full of flavour. Both starters got the thumbs up.

Because the place was so busy we had feared that our main courses would be delayed, but thankfully they were not. My shepherds pie was served up hot in a circular dish on a large white plate.

It was definitely made in-house and was topped with light and fluffy mash. This was delicately garnished with slivers of red pepper and spring onion. The meat was minted and mixed with carrots etc in a light gravy and was very tasty.

Simon’s sausages were large and fat and looked organic and locally made. The sauce had a lot of fresh tomato and was generously served.

Simon said the sausages were good and tasty and he enjoyed the sauce. We both liked the rough cut saute potatoes. They were well cooked with brown skins.

The salad was packed with a good selection of fresh and crisp salad.

For pudding Simon chose a chocolate mousse. I did manage one small spoonful of it myself. It came in a tall glass and was extremely light and fluffy.

The chocolate flavour was pleasant and not over-powering. It was topped with a strawberry.

We agreed that we were pleased with the decor, atmosphere and food, and that a return visit would soon be on the cards.

ADDRESS:
The Old Orleton, Wellington
Tel: 01952 255011

MENU SAMPLE:

Starters:
Soup and bread; cream, lemon & garlic mushrooms (all £5.25)

Main courses:
Beef & ale casserole; pan seared tuna steak (£9.95 with potatoes and salad).

Sides:
Garlic bread; home made crisps (£2.75)

Desserts:
Cheesecake; boozy bread and butter pudding (£4.50)

ATMOSPHERE:
Relaxed and welcoming in a trendy and popular setting

SERVICE:
Friendly, fast, efficient and courteous.