Star rating: **** Andy Richardson is genuinely heartened when he rediscovers the delights of one of the county’s culinary treasures.
THE question that people ask most frequently is this. Where are the three best places to eat in Shropshire? My answer is always the same. “Mr Underhill’s, Mr Underhill’s and Mr Underhill’s.”
The Ludlow restaurant, run by Chris and Judy Bradley, is in a league of its own. But, after visiting The Stiperstones Inn with my wife and daughter, maybe I should reappraise.
Of course, The Stiperstones’ simple, honest grub can’t hold a light to the extravagance on offer at Ludlow’s Michelin-starred gourmand’s paradise.
Nor, indeed, can the youthful waiters match the peerless service offered by the faultless maitre d’ at the Ludlow establishment, Judy Bradley.
But, The Stiperstones is to pubs what Mr Underhill’s is to fine dining. It is authentic, unfussy and stylish. Customers invariably leave with a desire to return. We’ve now eaten there on four occasions and every time we’ve vowed to go back. It’s at the top of our list of venues to take visiting friends, keen to sample Shropshire’s hills and pubs.
The Stiperstones Inn is, quite simply, one of the county’s treasures.
The Stiperstones is set high in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is an idyllic rural venue, unchanged by time. Its external walls are whitewashed, there’s a roaring log fire, a cat named Skittles will rub your legs in search of attention - there’s even an outside loo for the men.
But it’s not just the venue that inspires affection. The people who run it, and their staff, are genuinely warm. They welcome locals and visitors alike with kindness and humour.
Because of them, The Stiperstones Inn is like a home from home. Whether you’re visiting for the first time, or making your 1,000th visit, you’ll feel as though you’ve just stepped into your very own local.
We made our most recent visit on a Saturday evening, and it was as enjoyable as our first visit, some years ago. The menu seldom changes - there’s no reason it should. It’s an A-Z of honest, traditional British pub food - from steaks to Madras, from lasagne to sausage and chips.
All meals are served with salad, seasonal vegetables, jacket potato, roast potatoes, rice or full salad. And there are ample extras, like onion rings, which usually cost an extra £1. The Stiperstones Inn is nothing if not good value. Dishes usually cost around £6. The menu also contains a caveat to warm the hearts of all fledgling Bunters: “If you are very hungry, ask for a larger portion at no extra cost!” We were hungry, but knew from experience that our stomachs would be more than satisfied with regular portions. My wife opted for half a chicken, with salad and chips.
My daughter went for the ever-so-tasty lamb shank in minted gravy, while I went for a barbecue beef rib. We were all delighted.
The chicken was crisp and more-ish, the lamb tender so that it slid from the bone, and the beef rib was utterly delicious. I’ll have it again, next time we visit.
We all vowed not to have desserts. But, of course, we changed our minds just as quickly. My wife and daughter shared the whinberry crumble with ice-cream. The dish was made with tart, sticky whinberries picked from local hills. I opted for the apple-and-raspberry crumble, made from fresh Bramleys and locally picked raspberries.
There were other selections to tempt us, including a towering Victoria sponge, made that day, and an old fashioned golden suet pudding, steamed and coated with golden syrup and topped with stem ginger.
The next time someone asks about the best place to eat in Shropshire, I’ll still tell them Mr Underhill’s.
But I’ll make sure I tell them about The Stiperstones Inn, too. It is, in my humble opinion, the county’s best.
12 Comments
How do you know its the best? Have you eaten at every or nearly every pub/restaurant in the county?!
Why do the Star keep employing this imbecile? He is the master of exaggerationa and hyperbole, everything is black and white, and I for one am sick of reading a Richardson review.
Also if its as good as he says why didnt he award 5 stars..
Get another job Richardson
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The Stiperstones is a very good pub. But the best in Shropshire? Not sure - certainly top 10 material.
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i got a very nice steak at the white horse pulverbatch
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He is right. We have eaten there a few times and have never been disappointed with the food. The portions are very generous too.
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well i can say that i HAVE eaten at many of shropshires pubs and restaurants and while im no critic,merely a humble customer off the average street,i agree that the stiperstones is one of the best places i have ever eaten!
as mentioned the food is excellent while unfussy the service is as excellent as the prices and the portions are generally unrivaled!
a superb place to eat and drink
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Jerry Jones, I agree wholeheartedly with your comments but it is not just this reviewer who’s inane drivel annoys, it is almost all of them. But just to fuel the fire take a look in the Dining Out Archive section of this website. In February of 2006 there is another review of the Stiperstones Pub. I thought this strange that one establishment should be reviewed twice in two years and so read the review….lo and behold it is almost the same article! Take a look, even down to the cat’s name and the whinberry crumble dessert!
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I am fortunate enough to visit Shropshire for a couple of evenings most weeks and in the last 2 years I have eaten at the Stiperstones 76 times.
There are other places to eat, and I have tried many, but I like the Stiperstones a lot. It’s like a home from home. Lara and Phil are fabulous but that’s just a part of the charm. The staff are all fabulous (especially Lynne) and the locals must be the some of the friendliest people in the country.
I strongly recommend the salmon fish cakes but you can’t go wrong. This is a seriously nice pub!
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The Stars, Russian Trawler approach to writing food reviews gets more and more irritating ,how can you compare michelin star restaurants to pub grub no matter how good ? ,quality should not be judged by how big the mountain of chips is!. another irritation is your reviewer’s habitual vow not to have dessert ,someone should tell them that an accurate and balanced review must include dessert. Speaking of dessert I and possibly trading standards would be interested to know which local hills Whinberries/Bilberries/ blueberries or whichever name you wish to call them, and raspberries grow in January!!!
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Berries can be frozen of course.
Kevin, you are very sad to know the exact number of times you have visited the stipes!!!
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I agree with Andy, the stiperstones is warm friendly and the food is excellent, but please dont eat all the Gran Marnier Merengue save some for ME!
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The Stiperstones is THE BEST place to eat in Shropshire by far for a pub meal! Very friendly atmosphere and staff. The fillet steak is amazing and the portions HUGE!
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An excellent review and an interesting set of comments. I’m always amused by the rants of a few regular commentators. Sometimes I think they should just shut up and get a life but we need diversity. Perhaps we should award points to every user of pejorative terms like drivel, imbecile, exaggeration, inane and so on then at the end of the year award them a prize of a meal in a restaurant of choice to be followed by their own highly literate, witty and accurately descriptive review being published in the Star. We could then make illiterate and needlessly personal comments in response.
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