Rating: **** Sharon Walters dons her headscarf and dark glasses for an indulgent treat.

Little Chefs have been around since 1958 – all over the country they offered travellers a roadside place to pick up a drink, a snack or something more substantial at a reasonable cost.

At one time they were so popular there were often queues to get a table. And at the height of their popularity there were 435 up and down the UK.

Then they began to fall out of favour as tastes changed and more choices became available. There were also problems with lack of investment by the then owners, poor quality food and poor service.

Over the past ten years many have been forced to close their doors and now there are now just around 100.

But Little Chef was given a boost when Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumenthal took part in the Channel 4 documentary Big Chef takes on Little Chef. He tried out new dishes, looked at venue and staff. Customer reaction led to a new design and new menus in 2009 being introduced and the introduction ten concept restaurants which the firm believes demonstrate the best of what Little Chef has to offer.

Well there’s one at Shrewsbury and after several requests by the chain to visit I finally went this week – and I hasten to add totally anonymously.

Now I am not a food snob but it took some courage for me to step over the threshold – for goodness sake I may have been spotted by someone I know! And in addition you enter the Shrewsbury Little Chef via Burger King – now that, if I might suggest, is not a good idea if you are trying to encourage a ‘concept’ theme and more customers.

By passing the burger counter, you go through a small retail area into the restaurant and are immediately hit by how red it is but also how clean and spacious. and red is a colour that goes well with the current decorations of Union Jack bunting celebrating, as everywhere else, the Jubilee year and Olympics.

Meet and greet were good, we were shown to a window table and the menu explained. There’s a regular menu and a second one with special deals on – and jolly good value they looked.

As a result of the Heston influence there are a number of ‘signature’ dishes alongside many of the dishes that have been the mainstay of Little Chef over the years but now brought back up to scratch.

There’s also a commitment to the environment and animal welfare with all eggs free-range, sausages from outdoor reared pigs and fish from sustainable sources. Beef is British and farm-assured.

You can get a variety of breakfasts all day, sandwiches, toasties, main meals, pancakes and puddings and even afternoon tea. And of course there’s a good menu for children – and here I must say Little Chef is once again a great place if you are travelling with children. There’s the space you need for the little darlings, good value and even crayons and paper to keep them occupied.

But back to our meal. Homemade soup of the day was mushroom (£3.99) and chosen by Neil. He loved the creamy texture and earthy taste and also the good quality bread served alongside.

I had scampi dippers (£4.95) which came with a good pot of tartare sauce, a wedge of lemon and side salad. It was a good size portion with decent sized juicy scampi inside cripsy breadcrumbs.

Next Neil was torn by several of the traditional Little Chef dishes and eventually opted for the scampi and chips (£8.25). A repeat of my starter but more substantial, they came with skinny chips, fresh salad and the tartare sauce. He liked them as much as I had my starter.

I do love a good toastie and while tempted by braised ox cheeks, I had a cheese and ham one (£4.99). The bread was again good quality and not plastic sliced with plenty of home cured ham and mature cheese inside.

The skinny chips were also tempting and I had a portion of those (£1.99) served in a quirky paper arrangement. We also shared a portion of onion rings (£1.99) as they are a weakness and we hadn’t exactly decided on healthy options – there’s nothing wrong with naughtiness at the dining table now and again.

By this time I was full even though I love pancakes and they are a speciality in the restaurant. However Neil made a valiant effort and had a Maple syrup pancake (£2.99) – freshly made which he topped up with a scoop of ice cream (99p). Nothing was left on the plate.

Service was very good, the girl who greeted us and the main server was impressive. But I did object to some of our food being served by the cook complete with dirty kitchen apron on. Small point but it has to be made.

There’s a whole range of drinks available, including some really good offers on beer and wine for the non-drivers.

I am glad I went along and I have to say that when on my travels along our A roads, I won’t pass by a Little Chef so easily again.

MENU SAMPLE

STARTERS

Prawn cocktail £4.50

MAINS

Big British beefburger with relish, gherkins

and skinny chips £6.99

Braised ox cheeks with red wine and onion

sauce and buttery mash £9.85

DESSERTS

Fruit crumble with a choice of cream, ice

cream or custard £3.99

Hot chocolate sponge with a choice of

cream, ice creamd or custard £3.99

SERVICE

Very good and efficient

ATMOSPHERE

It was very quiet and a bit cold

DISABLED FACILITIES

Full disabled facilities