Star rating: **** Andy Richardson is bowled over by traditional food.

Walking into The Waterdine is rather like entering a timewarp. Everything stops at 1982.

The decor has none of the up-to-the-minute sophistication of the cutting edge noughties. The service is friendly and engaging, rather than slick and professional. The food is steeped in the classic French repertoire, with such treats as duck with blackcurrant, or pork with a mustard crust.

Chef patron Ken Adams eschews the modern convention for foams, swishes and dollops, by offering hearty portions of outstanding, traditional food. It’s as far removed from Heston Blumenthal’s vision of perfection as can be.

Followers of foodie fashion may prefer more cutting edge venues like Ludlow’s La Becasse – which, curiously, occupies the site of Adams’ former eaterie The Oaks – but for those, like me, who delight in high quality ingredients cooked with respect and skill, it’s an absolute gem.

Whichever part of Shropshire you live in, you can pretty much guarantee that the road to The Waterdine is long and hard. It sits on the borders of Shropshire, Herefordshire and Powys in the prettiest of valleys, at Llanfair Waterdine.

It’s a verdant, magical place that teems with wildlife, pretty flowers and awe-inspiring views. Little wonder it’s a magnet for walkers and others who enjoy the best of the region’s countryside.

The Adams family moved from Ludlow to their picturesque location almost ten years ago, just as the town’s gastronomic revolution took hold. Their dream of a successful restaurant with rooms has flourished and those in the know make regular visits.

My wife and I made our most recent sojourn on a Sunday evening, expecting the place to be pretty much deserted. It wasn’t, thankfully, and the dining room buzzed with the enthusiastic chatter of diners looking forward to a real treat.

Adams’ menu is a simple affair. He offers four choices of starter, main and dessert and offers a simple appetiser and no-frills petite fours. That means he can ensure his produce is fresh, seasonal and locally-sourced.

Oh, and in these credit crunch-induced times of austerity, he outflanks rival restaurants by offering all of that for just £32.50. Among restaurants operating in that price bracket, it offers by some distance the best value in the region.

When we arrived, we took our place in the comfortable lounge and the waitress brought a small dish of olives and a plate of fresh-from-the-oven cheese and walnut biscuits for us to enjoy while we perused the menu. The biscuits were decadently short and piping hot.

Adams’ offerings read so well that I’d have happily eaten everything on the menu. The choice between chicken, monkfish, duck and pork as a main course was decidedly tricky.

My wife selected the potted crab to start, followed by monkfish ratatouille. I chose the lamb sweetbreads, followed by pork with a mustard crust. My wife purred as she ate the perfectly seasoned and wonderfully indulgent potted crab. She enjoyed the slices of freshly baked granary bread that came with it. I was equally enthralled by the tender and deliciously savoury sweetbreads. Sweetbreads are the thymus and pancreas glands and not, despite a popular misconception, the testicles of lamb. They were served in a creamy, buttery sauce with mushrooms. I’d strongly recommend them.

There was a short pause before our main cause and my wife’s eyes lit up when her monkfish arrived on a piping hot plate. The portion was giant-sized on a bed of carefully cooked courgettes, peppers and aubergines in a sweet tomato sauce. As well as ignoring the ever-changing fashions of restaurants, Adams also ignores the trend for maximising profit by minimising portions. He hadn’t cut the monkfish into several slices and spread them out neatly, so as to create the illusion of a larger portion. He’d simply cooked the fish well and presented the lot.

My pork loin, meanwhile, was a celebration of all things piggy. The meat was tender and savoury and the mustard crust added complementary peppery flavour. It was served with roast potatoes, carrots, swede and other root vegetables in a savoury pork gravy. I used the vegetables to mop up every last drop of sauce and smacked my lips with satisfaction when the plate was cleaned.

For dessert, my wife chose a platter of three choux buns with brandy cream and chocolate sauce while I opted for the rhubarb creme brulee. Silence descended as we busily polished off the sweet and inviting plates. Coffee followed with chocolate-y petit fours before it was time to make our way home. Our bill for the evening, with a couple of glasses of wine was £30 lower than we’d expect to pay at comparable venues. It represented sensational value for money.

The Waterdine is a long way from anywhere and so the question diners need an answer to is this: Is it really worth the trip? The answer is an emphatic yes. For celebrations, cosy and intimate diners or parties, it knocks spots off its rivals.

MENU SAMPLE

£32.50 for three-course dinner

Starters

Lamb sweetbreads and asparagus

Sliced melon with avacado, strawberries and elderflower

Main courses

Fillet of brill baked in a mushroom crust on roast tomatoes with shallots

Roast loin of local pork with slowly braised belly and mustard mash

Desserts

Rhubarb panna cotta

ATMOSPHERE

Genteel but not posh. It’s an archetypal country dining pub

SERVICE

Warm, friendly and courteous

DISABLED FACILITIES

Staff assist

Contact: The Waterdine, Llanfair Waterdine, near Knighton, Shropshire, LD7 1 TU. Telephone 01547 528214