Reviewer’s rating ***

It was a stunning spring evening which held such great promise as we made our way through country lanes to dine at a pub which is listed in the prestigious Michelin Guide 2009.

Sadly no more than 90 minutes later we were making our way home feeling disappointed to say the least.

I had decided to make a second nostalgic visit to an area of south Cheshire, just over the Shropshire border, that was my ‘beat’ many years ago as a cub reporter.

I recently wrote of enjoyable visit that my partner Kath and I had made to the Cock O Barton. This time we were looking forward to dining at The Bull, Shocklach, again not too far from Malpas.

Nearly 40 years ago The Bull was a small, basic country pub and one that I used to visit during my calls to various villages .

I was under the impression that The Bull had long been closed and was surprised when a press release found its way to me.

It stated that The Bull had suffered a chequered history for several years, ending with an arson attack and closure in April 2007.

But the once popular village hostelry had risen Phoenix-like from the ashes with its licensees taking on their first pub lease and the challenge of creating a contemporary country inn.

Following a £150,000 investment, it had re-opened for business and had been praised by the Michelin Guide as “a smart village restaurant with large terrace and modern stylish feel” and and a menu which has “tasty dishes with a seasonal, traceable base”.

Our expectations were high. And a busy car park seemed a good omen.

Inside there were many patrons in the bar area, being served food and ordering meals. After standing around in the hustle and bustle I caught the attention of a member of staff and said that I had pre-booked a table.

After ordering drinks – no problem about asking for a cask beer but the hostess seemed to be unsure about what dry white wines were available by the glass – we were shown into the restaurant where a family were the only other diners.

For starters Kath went for smoked mackerel pate with toasted bloomer bread (£4.95) and I chose black pudding on a grilled tomato with poached egg and bacon jus (£5.50).

Both were well presented and we enjoyed them, though they were nothing out of the ordinary.

We had already been feeling slightly irritated by what we felt was the lack of a proper welcome and the intrusive noise from the bar, but this feeling was about to grow.

Three times a waitress approached the table to see whether Kath had finished the starter.

She is not a slow eater but out for the evening she quite rightly does like to take her time. What was the rush we wondered as we started to feel under pressure. True the pub was busy but they weren’t actually rushed off their feet in the restaurant section.

For mains Kath decided on the vegetarian dish of mushroom and blue cheese risotto with rocket and a pesto dressing (£9.95). My choice was oven baked halibut supreme with a pine nut crust, diced potatoes, chorizo sausage and green beans (£13.50).

The risotto lacked any imagination and had little flavour. It looked a grey, unappetizing mush that had been thrown onto the plate.

It wasn’t quite bad enough to send back to the kitchen but Kath was disappointed to say the least.

I could not fault the presentation of my dish. It tasted fine but lacked any ‘wow’ factor.There’s nothing more I can say about it.

We had side orders of chips (cooked in beef dripping and tasty) and vegetables of the day. But why do so many eating places show lack of imagination when it comes to veg? They often seem to be an afterthought and this was no exception. Just three different greens.

Again we were feeling under pressure to hurry but we asked for time to consider whether we wanted puddings.

And at this stage our irritation increased.

Brushing past our table came a laughing and joking group of 16 to 18 people for what seemed a special celebration. We couldn’t help feeling this was the reason why we seemed to be rushed.

We were far from relaxed and agreed to skip puddings or coffee.

A member of the family group who had been dining at the same time as us, told one of the party group, that he had enjoyed a superb meal.

This, I thought, coupled with the fact that The Bull was busy, means that it is obviously doing something right for many people.

Sadly it didn’t for us on this occasion.

By Dave Morris

MENU SAMPLE

Starters

Soup of the day (£4.50); Sizzling garlic king prawns (£6.50)

Main courses

Pan fried duck breast (£13.25); Home-made fish pie (£10.95)

Sides

Garlic ciabatta (£2.50); Home-made onion rings (£1.95)

Desserts

Trio of rhubarb puddings (£5.50); Sticky toffee pudding (£4.95)

ATMOSPHERE

Busy rural pub

SERVICE

Friendly

DISABLED FACILITIES

Easy access

Contact: The Bull, Shocklach, near Malpas, Cheshire. Tel: 01829 250239