Star rating: * * * 

People go to pubs for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s the atmosphere, the real ale, the food, even the quiz night.

For the Chain Bridge Hotel at Llangollen it has to be the position.

Perched between two beautiful watercourses, the rushing waters of the River Dee and the calm Llangollen Canal, the Chain Bridge has some of the prettiest walks in the area right on its doorstep.

Just a few hundred yards away are the dramatic Horseshoe Falls while in the other direction, you can walk all the way into Llangollen along the canal or even climb Velvet Hill.

Sadly you can’t cross the Chain Bridge itself although the hotel’s new owners are keen to see it restored.

The hotel itself is more than a little dated in its decoration. But it has two saving graces – wonderfully comfortable leather sofas, and the view.

Thanks to the huge windows along the riverside, you can sit, have a drink or enjoy a meal as the roaring white waters race by below you.

Our visit to the Chain Bridge came as autumn arrived and a brief walk on the towpath between the canal and river was truly beautiful with the browns and oranges of the bracken and trees reflected in the quiet canal on one side, and the whitewater and black rocks in the canal on the other.

There were nine of us celebrating Emma and Sophie’s 17th birthdays and thanks to a quiet evening we basically had a room to ourselves, with sofas around a fireplace, our dining tables overlooking the river and even an en suite ladies toilet.

We were also left to our own devices ordering our meals at the bar and even rearranging the tables so we could all sit together. But there was some disappointment when we were told there was no curry, or even baked potatoes.

In constrast to the decor the food, a mix of old and new dishes, was presented in a modern style.

Overall it was very good with just a couple of points that let the side down.

The starters were well received, with the pureed vegetable soup really tasty and served with herb bread, and although the pate was rather a small portion it was well presented with plenty of toast and served with delicious onion-and-orange chutney.

Most disappointing of the main courses was the overcooked and rather small gammon and the peculiar garlic bread – lots of it but made with slices rather than crushed garlic that frankly put me off.

More impressive was the steak-and-ale pie, which tasted homemade and had huge chunks of beef in it. For Mel the gravy was too tomato based while for Mum it was delicious but she couldnt finish the large portion.

The burgers and lasagne went down well while my choice from the specials board was excellent.

Char-grilled tuna on a prawn and tarragon liguine had the contrast of a tuna steak atop a creamy pasta dish with tarragon, the perfect herb to bring life to the meal.

When no one arrived to offer us a dessert menu we decided instead to cut the girls’ birthday cake and have that instead.

Staff were happy to loan us a knife and even encouraged us to sing Happy Birthday louder, but they could have capitalised by suggesting ice cream to accompany the cake or tempted us with whatever desserts were on the menu.

Despite this the lovely view, by now illuminated, made our trip to the Chain Bridge Hotel worthwhile.

It has the potential to be a huge success, the food is more than promising and the views and those sofas are lovely.

By Sue Austin

MENU SAMPLE:

Starters: Chefs home-made soup of the day served with a wedge of bread baked in kitchen (£3.75); creamy garlic mushrooms finished with brandy and served with a salad garnish and warm bread (£4.75); home-made seafood & spring onion fishcakes with chef’s own tartar sauce (£4.75).

Main courses: Steak and Guinness pie served with vegetables mashed potato or chips (£9.95); home-made beer battered cod served with a stack of chips minted peas, chefs own tartare sauce and lemon salad (£90; baked beef or Mediterranean lasagne served with garlic bread and chips or a side salad (£8.45).

Desserts: Choice of freshly made desserts.

Atmosphere: Very quiet.

Service: Mixed.

Disabled Facilities: No disabled facilities.