Reviewer’s rating **** It’s Saturday evening and that can mean only one thing: Strictly Come Dancing. And while watching the nation’s favourite reality show, readers will naturally want good recommendations for places to eat when the ballyhoo stops, writes Andy Richardson.

I suppose it’s only fair to come clean now. As your appointed judge for this evening, I think I should probably set out a few pointers. There won’t be the giving-marks-away-for-free benevolence of Bruno. I’m simply not that flamboyant.

And there won’t be any scathing, Queen of Mean, Arlene-style jibes. I can’t do acid.

Nor will there be any finger-wagging, things-were-different-in-my-day declarations in the style of Len. I’m strictly not old school.

No, tonight’s restaurant review will be more in the style of pantomime baddie Craig, dah-ling. I’ll be a stickler for detail, picking up on the minor details that take the gloss of a performance, while looking for the positives. And, if I’m able to offer a Fab-U-Lous, I won’t hold back.

Right, that’s cleared up that then. On to this week’s restaurant.

Mad Jack’s is situated in Shrewsbury town centre’s St Mary’s Street and is one of the county’s best-run bistros. Its owners and head chef have oodles of experience and the venue is a perennial favourite of the town’s discerning foodies.

The restaurant’s good reputation is well deserved. It’s staff are polite and well mannered. On the midweek evening that we visited, the cocktail-inventing barman was particularly impressive.

The kitchen pays great attention to the provenance of its ingredients. It sources food from local suppliers who can guarantee their raw materials have been raised or reared by local producers with an ethical bent. And the menus are always bright and exciting. The interior is smart without being flash and the atmosphere is routinely inviting. So far, so good.

My wife and I visited on a Tuesday evening and the dining area was half full. We enjoyed drinks at the bar and a small platter of appetisers – buttered popcorn, olives and sun-blushed tomatoes – before moving to our table.

The menu offered a sensible amount of choice and there were disclaimers warning that all dinners were cooked from scratch, so diners ought not to become snooty if their plates took a while to arrive.

When we arrived at our table, we were bought small cups of a sweet and intense tomato-ey soup. The flavours were to die for but, ridiculously, it was luke warm. One mark deducted for failing to pay attention to detail.

I’d have happily eaten any of the five or six starters on offer, but eventually plumped for the veal shin ravioli with a quenelle of beetroot.

The basics were spot on. The shin had been cooked so that the meat fell away and was rich and tender. The pasta, however, was so-so. Full marks go to the kitchen for apparently preparing fresh pasta on site, but it needed to be lighter and have more bite. Their version was too elastic.

As with the soup, the kitchen committed the cardinal sin of leaving the plate for too long on the pass, so it was tepid by the time it arrived.

My wife opted for goat’s cheese on a bed of beetroot and salad leaves with a herb vinaigrette. Again, the basics were spot on but the dish was slightly unbalanced by the excessive amount of beetroot.

By the midway point, Mad Jack’s was heading for a resounding three out of five. It had offered an average performance with one or two impressive touches being undone by poor attention to detail. The main courses, however, lifted the evening.

My fillet of pork was a treat. The savoury assemblage of mushrooms, bacon and shallots that accompanied it were divine. The wilted spinach offered good contrast, the potato gratin was not at all bad and the savoury jus was spot on.

Similarly, my wife’s fillet of coley had been prepared with expertise. It flaked in big chunks, like cod, and the accompanying risotto was well-judged.

The desserts failed to keep up the pace. Both were great in principle but suffered from indifferent execution. I was no more than mildly impressed by a nutty brioche served with wild cherries and a delightful Horlicks ice cream. My wife’s parfait, meanwhile, was so iced that a disc of ice had actually formed on the plate.

Mad Jack’s has plenty going for it, though it’s a long way from reaching the county’s finest restaurants. It has nailed the basics but occasionally the kitchen lacks focus and lets itself down by failing to pay attention to detail.

However, the positives far outweigh the negatives. It offers thoughtful and imaginative food in convivial surrounds and the waiters and waitresses shine. We’d trust it enough to return with friends. So, a four out of five.

ADDRESS
Mad Jack’s, St Mary’s Street, Shewsbury
Tel: 01743 358870

MENU SAMPLE
Starters
Lobster and langoustine bisque (£5.50); Pressed ham and pistachio (£5.50)

Main courses
Loin of venison with juniper-infused jus and roasted chestnuts (£15.95)

Sides;
Garlic mushrooms (£2.50); Roquet, tomato and Parmesan salad (£2.50)

Desserts
Hazelnut brioche with Horlicks and praline ice cream (£5.50)

ATMOSPHERE
Lively and a tad sophisticated

SERVICE
Friendly and efficient. Staff go out of their way to help

DISABLED FACILITIES
Accessible but no specialised loo