Star rating: *** Lisa Bailey finds the ideal dining out location for a ‘volume eater’

The whisky club widows in our village sing the praises of the Three Horseshoes in Sambrook, near Newport. While their other halves are enjoying a tipple or two they are off for a meal at The Three Horseshoes.

So, as a special treat for my birthday we fancied somewhere different and so we followed their beaten track along the long and windy lanes.

The pub is small but cosy with a lounge, bar and restaurant area. We sat in the lounge to look through the menus and specials. Our son Daniel was eager to explore and came across the pub’s friendly dogs Ben and Lucy in the bar. I studied the menu while Daniel and his dad fussed the dogs.

I didn’t really need to go further than the specials board, with plenty of fish on there to take my fancy. I chose mushrooms with bacon and stilton (£4.95) for my starter and whole sea bass Mexican style (£11.95) for my main.

Neil would have liked soup to start, but was told it was all gone. We later discovered from a neighbouring table that the chef’s soup is legendary!

He then chose farmhouse paté served with a bread roll (£3.75) and an eight-ounce fillet steak (£10.75) for his main course. He asked, as normal, for it to be cooked well done.

Staff were most accommodating with Daniel’s meal when I asked whether they could do a child’s portion of the chicken with sweet-and-sour vegetables and rice.

While we were waiting for our starters Daniel and Neil disappeared into the garden to play on the swing and slide. I stayed inside because even though it was May it was bitterly cold.

Forthcoming events were also listed on a board and one in particular sounded fantastic – full English breakfast with toast and the newspapers on the last Sunday of the month. All for £5.

We were then shown through to the 24-seater restaurant. The starters arrived – mine was delicious with the stilton melted and plenty of bacon and mushroom. Daniel joined me sampling my starter while he waited patiently for the main course.

Neil’s paté was obviously homemade and tasty, but we thought it strange that it came with a roll rather than toast although it did say that on the menu.

Then the main courses arrived. I was a little taken aback with my Mexican-style sea bass. Again, I hadn’t read the specials board properly so when a whole sea bass rather than a fillet was put on the table – it looked enormous.

Neil is a “volume-eater” – if there’s a lot of it, it’s good. He was a bit put out because his steak paled into insignificance to mine. He said it was a little too well done – perhaps too much for his liking. It was served with chips and onion rings.

Both our meals came with vegetables – cauliflower and broccoli.

The little chap who hadn’t paused for breath since we had walked in the Three Horseshoes was silent. Spoon and fork in hand he was wolfing down the chicken with sweet-and-sour vegetables and polished off the complete dish – so no further comment is required.

The sea bass flaked away and the ‘Mexican style’ was vegetables and peppers in a Mexican sauce, which was hot and tangy. They seemed to complement each other perfectly.

Anyway as it was my birthday I also deserved a dessert. I went for the strawberry pavlova, Neil Black Forest gateau and Daniel ice-cream. The desserts were £2.95.

I think I was the winner with the crunchy pavlova and cream. It was a huge portion, but I savoured every mouthful. Daniel stole a sly strawberry or two to have with his icecream.

Again, Neil didn’t fare too well with the gateau, which he thought was on the dry side and it was only the accompanying ice-cream that saved the day. There was also a lot of it.

Both of us said that it’s been a long time since we have felt so full after a meal.

The evening was topped off by local folk band, Fiddle and Folk, who were playing in the bar. Even two-year-old Daniel had the chance to try his hand on a drum. The group plays on the first and third Wednesday of the month.

And for those real-ale drinkers out there, the pub serves Shropshire Gold and has once again featured in the Good Beer Guide this year.

After a great evening, Neil and I have now joined the whisky club widows in singing The Three Horseshoes’ praises.

MENU SAMPLE

Starters

Deep-fried whitebait (£4.75);

black pudding with pepper sauce (£4.75)

Main courses

Half a duck in plum sauce (£10.50);

breaded scampi (£8.50)

Desserts

Rhubarb crumble (£2.95);

mixed fruit sponge (£2.95)

ATMOSPHERE

Friendly, and pub livened up later in the evening with a very mixed crowd.

SERVICE

Excellent and friendly without being too intrusive.

DISABLED FACILITIES

No disabled facilities.

Contact: Three Horseshoes, Smabrook, near Newport. Tel: 01952 551133