But there was no mystery about the warm welcome we received as we arrived at Old Rectory Hotel and Restaurant in Lowe Hill Road, Wem, for our evening meal.

We were met in the splendid reception hall by Emma Willis, who took us into the comfortable drawing room to study the menu and enjoy a quiet drink.

And this just about set the tone for a delightful evening in a lovely setting with excellent food and helpful but unobtrusive staff.

Admittedly it was a quiet Monday evening but we got the impression that even on busy nights, the staff would make sure that every detail was seen to.

The Old Rectory opened last year after extensive renovation by Keith and Kathy Hanmer and their daughter Selina.

Now they have reopened 16 bedrooms and make full use of the drawing room, restaurant and Orangery which overlooks the 3.5 acre grounds.

We selected our meal from the ˆ la carte menu but the Old Rectory offers a range of alternatives including morning coffee, afternoon teas, a luncheon menu and a bistro-style early summer supper menu in the Orangery.

It also caters for weddings and family events as well as organising its own themed evenings including a murder mystery night.

The menus put together by resident chef  Sean Wilde are quite traditional, in keeping with the country house style of entertaining.

This was coupled with an attention to detail that left us delighted with the standard of food and service. 

We started with a drink in the drawing room and took the opportunity to wander into the garden while we waited to be called through to our table.

The gardens, simply laid out with clipped lawns and gravelled paths, are a charming background to the former rectory with its Georgian pillars and tall windows.

Back inside we waited only a few minutes before being taken by Emma to our table in the Orangery with the French doors thrown open to catch the last of the evening breeze.

We sat at solid wooden tables in some of the most comfortable chairs I have come across in a restaurant and enjoyed the view of the garden.

I had ordered the melon as a starter, and it proved to be a refreshingly light appetiser. Richard opted for the more substantial pepper pot garlic mushrooms which he said was very tasty, particularly with fresh bread rolls.

Our main course followed our starters after a respectable pause. I went for the beef stroganoff which arrived piping hot with a rice accompaniment. Richard opted for the chicken chasseur.

We were offered a range of vegetables including potatoes, carrots, broccoli and the most delicious white cabbage I have ever tasted. There were plenty of vegetables, served by Sophie, although I am sure that she would have brought us more if we had been particularly hungry

We are not experts, but our layman’s taste buds agreed that both dishes were full of traditional flavour without being over-pampered.

The chicken was particularly tasty and Richard made sure that every last scrap was teased from the bones before he would part with his plate.

Far too comfortable in our dining chairs to end the evening after just two courses, we decided to sample the sweet menu.

We did not regret our decision. Richard was tempted by the rhubarb and ginger trifle and I went for the shortbread stack with strawberries and cream.

Richard’s trifle was delicious. I managed to scrounge a spoonful, although I was lucky to get that before the bowlful disappeared in double-quick time.

The shortbread stack was also a delight, with the biscuits providing a crisp base for the fruit and cream – although I think the trifle probably sneaked in as the winner for the evening’s most mouth-watering dish.

We rounded off our meal, still firmly settled in the comfy chairs, with a coffee and pot of tea. The whole meal was served with a smile by Sophie and Emma, who are both obviously trained to a high standard and were discreetly on hand without fussing.

The whole setting is superb with an old world sense of peace and quiet despite being right on the edge of down-town Wem.

All evening we kept expecting to catch a glimpse of Miss Marple bustling into the drawing room with her knitting or Poirot simpering up the stairs.

But they would have found no murder victims in this country house – only two satisfied customers.

By Janet and Richard Jones

MENU SAMPLE

Starters

Fresh fruit kebab (£4.95)

Chicken liver parfait (£5.25).

Main courses

Knuckle of British lamb with a rosemary glaze and roasted shallots (£13.95)

Supreme of chicken stuffed with banana and wrapped in smoked bacon (£12.95)

Desserts

Chocolate bavarois (£4.95)

Triple chocolate and marshmallow cheesecake (£4.95)

ATMOSPHERE

Reassuringly peaceful

SERVICE

A class act. Polite, professional and discreet

DISABLED FACILITIES

Disabled access to all the eating areas. Separate disabled toilet

SMOKING POLICY

Only in the bar area