Star rating: * * * *

A night on the tiles with a couple of university friends called for some really top nosh I thought.

Though Janine and Vicki had visited Shrewsbury many times over the past 10 years, I wanted to take them for a slightly better quality meal than the bacon sandwiches and crisps of our college days.

So The Cornhouse restaurant and winebar on Shrewsbury’s Wyle Cop is where we decided to tickle our taste buds.

I had already emailed the girls the website link so they could look at the venue and menus in advance and get excited, which they duly did. The Cornhouse is a classy and intimate venue on the edge of the town centre.

It looks sparkly and inviting from the outside and inside the two storeys are lit beautifully and, although the ground floor is quite small, it feels spaciously laid out.

The medieval town is sometimes disappointing on the dining out front. But The Cornhouse has been holding its corner for the past 20 years and is a warm yet intimate venue.

Indeed it was the home of my sister’s wedding proposal and a firm favourite among the town’s business types and ladies-who-lunch set.

My fellow diners, one an ex-chef and the other a PR whizz, flew into “critic” mode as soon as we entered.

They both liked the fact we had a roomy table and wicker chair set up with enough space to keep us separate from the other diners without feeling isolated.

We were late – you know how long it takes girls to get ready – but the staff immediately brushed aside our apologies saying there was no rush.

This was the right attitude for us as we all have an “Italian attitude” to food and could happily sit there all night munching and drinking, we were glad to take our time,

Quality is certainly better than quantity and the ingredients and combinations have obviously been well thought out at The Cornhouse.

I noticed a knife on my setting which could have been cleaner, but it was dutifully dealt with by our waitress – more of her later.

After pouring over the menu, and the specials menu which threw our pre-made decisions, we chose the wine.

There was, however, no option to have just a glass of rose, but our confident waitress, who had more double entendres up her sleeve than a Viz comic, sorted that out and brought the girls their bottle of red.

Janine, who was the one to impress out of the three of us, made a point of telling me the wine was the perfect room temperature. Soon it was on to the starters.

To pace ourselves, Janine and I shared the chicken liver parfait while Vicki chose the scallop and black pudding salad. Both arrived promptly and were exquisitely presented.

Again, the parfait, which is more delicate than a pate, was the perfect temperature with a creamy flavour, and we had a properly dressed salad and delicious chutney to accompany.

We didn’t hear much from Vicki as she tucked into her starter but her empty plate signalled how much she enjoyed it – and we all had a taste.

For mains, Vicki chose pigeon with sweet potato chips because she had never had it before.

Our waitress, originally from the American Deep South, was very vocal with our table, often engaging with us in conversation and remarking on Vicki’s choices. But Vicki, a good old fashioned Northerner will try anything once.

Janine went for the sirloin steak and I ordered whole roasted sea bass with lemon and dill butter and prawn risotto.

Vicki, Janine and I all enjoyed Vicki’s pigeon which was cooked to perfection and accompanied by all the right flavours.

Janine said her sizeable steak was cooked to her liking and was a quality piece of meat. It was one of the more traditional and simple dishes on the menu, but was clearly a much higher class of steak dish than you would find on the average pub menu.

My seabass was also well presented and cooked. But I wasn’t hugely impressed with the risotto. It appeared to me it had more cream than natural risotto “juice” and was slightly artificial in my opinion.

Due to food and wine overload, we decided to share the baked raspberry creme brulee cheesecake and it didn’t disappoint. It was exactly what it said on the tin and a was a really nice, sweet kick to finish off our meals.

We found the food almost faultless and the atmosphere charming. If I had to make any criticism of the laid-back Cornhouse, it would be that some of the younger waitresses attire was slightly too laid back and a smarter, more uniformed look could reflect the Cornhouse’s standard better.

But then most people who dine out are not there for the waitresses, who it has to be said, were very attentive serving staff.

After two hours of eating and putting the world to rights we finally left to sample some of Shrewsbury’s nightlife.

Catherine Roche

MENU SAMPLE

Starters: Chicken liver parfait with homemade chutney and toast (£5.95); Warm pigeon breast served on a beetroot and toasted hazelnut salad with balsamic dressing (£6.50)

Mains: Chicken Wellington – chicken breast with wild mushroom pate, spinach and pancetta wrapped in puff pastry with a wild mushroom sauce (£18.25) Duck breast served on Chinese-style noodles and grilled pakchou (£17.50)

Desserts: Baked raspberry brulee cheesecake; Sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch ice cream; Selection of cheeses (all £4.50)

ATMOSPHERE

Cosy, warm and friendly

SERVICE

Very colourful but attentive waitresses

DISABLED ACCESS

There is access through the main double doors and the layout of the tables and chairs changes to accommodate. The toilet is downstairs but there is a step to get to it

CONTACT

The Cornhouse, Wyle Cop, Shrewsbury. Tel: 01743 231991 or visit www.cornhouse.co.uk