Porters, Oswestry

Star rating: ****
Set in the old station building in Oswestry, Porters restaurant offers unique surroundings to enjoy a freshly prepared lunch.

Everything about Porters oozes character, from its classic train carriage seating areas to its impressive menu of locally sourced produce.

Stepping into the Cambrian station building, you are taken back in time to when trains once ran through the town, with a mini film theatre where visitors can explore the town’s railway history.

The building has been stylishly refurbished, however, at a cost of £2.1 million, and along with Porters and the film theatre, offers a shop and a tourist information centre.

Porters itself provided a warm and welcoming atmosphere on what was a cold, wet and windy day outside.

Despite the new decor the traditional theme remained throughout, with the paintwork matching the great Western Railway colours and the tables were laid with thick slate table mats.

The carriage seating was a personal favourite complete with old fashioned suitcases resting on top.

The restaurant is open from 11.30am until 4pm offering an impressive lunchtime menu and will be open at night in the run-up to Christmas.

We took our seats and were spoilt for choice by all the homemade options.

Wherever possible, Porters uses fresh local food and every menu is freshly prepared.

The soups, speciality dishes, cakes and scones are all homemade, the ice cream and dessert sauces are made close by and the eggs are free range from Baschurch.

We eventually made our decision and I went for one of the lite bite options, a pork and apple burger (£3.45) with a side portion of chips. (95p)

Served in a bread roll it came complete with a homemade relish, coleslaw and salad. Days later my mouth is still watering thinking about it. It was superb, and a refreshing change to standard burgers.

My two dining companions opted for the beef and caramelised onions in a ciabatta (£3.75) and the chicken and crispy bacon in sun-blush tomato mayo with a jacket potato (£3.95).

The quality of both the chicken and the bacon shone through. The bacon was obviously the old fashioned dry-cured bacon and the chicken was commented on as being simply delicious.

The ciabatta also went down well and the top quality of the meat was again highly praised.

My companions were most excited however at finding their dishes came not only with coleslaw and salad, but vegetable crisps - thin slices of beetroot, parsnip and other root vegetables which they adored.

We also ordered the stuffed mushroom lite bite (£3.25) to share between the three of us.

It was a large mushroom filled with a cream cheese, red pepper, mushroom and onion filling served in a bread roll with a salad garnish.

It is not something I would typically order, but that was the delight of the menu - it provided something a bit different, but it was an excellent choice which vegetarians would be delighted with and something I would definitely consider ordering in the future.

Despite ordering a lite bite I was pleasantly full, but none of us could resist the range of homemade desserts.

I went for the chocolate cake which came with ice-cream, while my companions opted for a white chocolate and Baileys cheesecake and a lemon curd meringue.

When they arrived we all commented on the high standard of presentation and couldn’t wait to dig in - the same of which could have been said for our main meals.

The cheesecake was said to be very decadent and creamy, but that it was a shame the chocolate and Baileys slightly overpowered the cheesecake taste. The lemon was a very rich lemon coulis which complemented the meringue while the chocolate cake was such a generous portion I unfortunately had to leave some.

All the sweets were priced at £3.50 which, when homemade, was good value, but there wasn’t much difference at all between the meal prices and the desserts which we would normally expect.

The drinks menu also provided something a bit different - a theme that seemed to run through Porters.

It was great to see something like elderflower presse on the menu and a nice change to the normal range of soft drinks on offer.

There was also a children’s menu, consisting of “Berties Burger” (£2.95) and “Percy’s Pasta” (£2.25) and a designated area was also provided for young children with a small table and chairs.

All in all, Porters provided a charming lunchtime experience which I would highly recommend and I certainly intend to return to.

If the office Christmas party hadn’t already been booked, I would also be tempted by the three-course evening Christmas menu on offer, reasonably priced at £12.95 for two courses or £15.95 for three.

Contact detailsPorters restaurant, Oswald Road, Oswestry

01691 655111

MENU SAMPLE

Starters

Farmer’s soup of the day (£3.50)

Main courses

The main platform - served from 11.30am to 2.30pm

Sausage and mash (£5.25); Porters Ploughman’s lunch (£5.95); Overton farmhouse cheese and salad sandwich (£3.95)

Sides

Fat chips (95p)

Mixed side salad (£1.85)

Desserts

Chocolate rum mousse (£3.50)

Malteeser cheesecake (£3.50)

ATMOSPHERE

Friendly, charming and relaxed

SERVICE

Very good. Staff were attentive

DISABLED FACILITIES

Access for all

smoking policy

non-smoking