Star rating: *** The Pavement Gates Inn at Ford always looks warm and inviting when I drive past on my way to Shrewsbury, writes Abigail Bates, and after months of vowing to, I finally got round to trying it out with my friend Alex.
We weren’t able to book a table, because try as we did we couldn’t find a telephone number for the pub anywhere, but upon arrival we were given a warm welcome and shown the menu.
Unfortunately this was where the disappointment started. I love it when you go for a meal and you are absolutely spoilt for choice, but I felt the menu was quite limited, with fewer than 10 main meals to choose from. So I stuck to my pub favourite, lasagne, and Alex to his - steak with mushrooms and fried onions.
The inside of the pub was cosy, there was a bar area with large, comfortable looking leather sofas and the menus were written on blackboards at the bar, which was a nice touch, but when we were shown to our table I couldn’t help but long for the sofas in the bar area.
The restaurant was nicely laid out and decorated in light cream, so it was nice and airy, but it just didn’t feel cosy. It was a large, open plan room and we were on a table for two right slap bang in the middle of it.
The food arrived quite quickly and the portions were generous, but other than that it was fairly average. My lasagne was tasty enough, with plenty of soft pasta sheets and rich cheese, and it came with a dressed side salad.
Alex said his steak, which he asked for medium, was cooked to perfection but it was a bit plain; other than the mushrooms and onions it came with, it had no dressing and we were not offered any sauces, although when we asked staff were only too happy to oblige.
The meals came with new potatoes, vegetables and chips.
The chips were fantastic; fat and crispy, cooked just the right amount, and plenty of them! But I was once again disappointed with the potatoes and vegetables, with only peas and carrots to choose from and plain potatoes, which could have benefited from some herbs or some butter.
Although the staff were polite and pleasant enough, no-one asked us if our meal was OK until we had finished and I had to attract the attention of the waitress when I wanted to order more drinks, rather than being offered them.
When we got around to looking at the dessert menu, I was disappointed again. If I remember rightly there were only five desserts to chose from; two were cheesecake, two were chocolate based and one was a cheese board, so fussy eaters might not have found something they liked.
Instead, I chose a chocolate and cherry steamed pudding, and when it arrived it was delicious; warm, rich and with plenty of tasty chocolate sauce.
The combination of chocolate and cherry worked really well together too.
Alex’s chocolate and Baileys roulade, he said, was tasty, although I think he wished he had gone for the chocolate and cherry pudding I had!
We agreed the desserts were the highlight of the whole meal, although they were not served with cream or ice cream, which would have been a nice contrast to the rich puddings we had.
When we paid the bill at the end of the meal, the owner of the pub came out for a chat and I learned he has only recently taken over the Pavement Gates, having been working in pubs abroad.
He was really friendly, and we wished him well with the pub, and told him we enjoyed the meal, which we did.
However, the meal was just lacking in too many ways for me to return in a hurry, but I wouldn’t rule it out completely.
Perhaps I’ll revisit the Pavement Gates in a few months to see if there are any new dishes on the menu.
ADDRESS:
The Pavement Gates Inn, Welshpool Road, Ford, Shrewsbury
Tel: 01743 850309
MENU SAMPLE
Starters
Tomato and red pepper soup £3.75; Chicken liver, bacon and brandy paté £3.95
Main courses
Tortellini stuffed with tomato, feta and black olives £7.95; Shoulder of lamb with rosemary and parsnip sauce £11.95
Desserts
Strawberry and white chocolate cheesecake; Selection of cheese
All puddings between £3 and £5
ATMOSPHERE
Busy, but not very cosy
SERVICE
Polite and swift, but could be more attentive
DISABLED FACILITIES
Easy access throughout
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