Rating: ***** James Shaw and his wife enjoy a great dining experience.

Whenever Claire and I review a pub or restaurant, there are always a couple of faults to pick out.

You know the sort of thing – a surly waitress, cold soup, or even sky-high prices.

It is rare indeed that we find a pub with virtually no problems whatsoever.

In fact, over five years of eating out and rating the results, I have only ever given five stars to a couple of places.

And now the Shakespeare Inn at Coalport can join them.

We visited late on a Sunday afternoon when most pubs and other eateries in the area were closed.

The packed car park gave a sign of what awaited, as did the happy hum that emerged from the terrace.

Thankfully, the eating area was relatively uncrowded, allowing us to wheel young Louis’ pram around with few problems.

It was interesting to see how diners mixed easily with drinkers – this is one of the things I always look out for.

The days of pubs concentrating solely on drinking or eating are, more or less, gone – it is often the case that neither can support a going concern on their own.

The social side of drinking in a pub needs to be cherished, as does the joy of eating out and I find it best when they co-exist.

At the Shakespeare, the friendly banter of the bar drifted over to our table from time to time and was a real joy.

There was no physical barrier separating the two areas and that added to the atmosphere.

Anyway, back to the food.

To begin, I went for the homemade country pate, while Claire decided to try the mushroom soup.

Two relatively simple dishes that should, in theory, provide a pretty basic start to our meal.

Wrong.

My patŽ, served with cumberland sauce and toast, was just divine.

I have grown used to regular servings of pate over my time as a meal reviewer, but this was something different, and oh so delicious.

Perhaps it was the superb cumberland sauce, or even the accompanying salad.

Whatever it was, this was a starter that will remain in my memory for some time to come.

Claire’s praise of her soup was equally fulsome.

Like me, she has grown a little used to typical examples of tomato and basil soup, so this was once again a delicious treat.

Quite why, she could not put her finger on, but there really was something outstanding about her soup.

The accompanying bread was an added bonus to a delicious and flavoursome start to her meal.

Of course, the next challenge was to beat those achievements with the main courses.

I selected the rack of ribs, while for Claire, it was the steak and ale pie.

To be honest, I really should have known better.

Ribs are, even at the best of times, a messy option and even though I was careful, it was a disaster.

I must point out that the ribs themselves were delicious and, again, have made the highlights list of my eating out “career”.

It may be that I am missing a vital evolutionary gene, but whatever it is, I simply lack the basic skills to eat ribs properly.

Even young Louis, watching me open-mouthed from his high-chair, would have been tidier.

Like I said, a fantastic main course, if a little messy.

Claire, as ever, chose sensibly.

Her steak and ale pie contained huge chunks of steak, along with a delicious sauce.

Of course, those big chunks of meat were the real stars of the show.

“Melt in the mouth” is sometimes an overused phrase, but in this case they really did do that – whilst also being oh-so delicious.

Eagle-eyed readers will also notice I have used the term “oh-so delicious” twice in this meal review.

But sometimes, of course, repetitions are richly deserved.

And with our experience being virtually faultless, then a repeat visit is very much on the cards.

Contact

The Shakespeare Inn, High Street, Coalport, Telford.

Tel: 01952 580675

MENU SAMPLE

Starters

Crispy calamari (£4.25)

Deep-fried mushrooms (£4.25)

Main courses

Pan-fried breast of chicken (£9.25)

Roasted Tuscan red peppers (£9.25)

ATMOSPHERE

Lively and busy, whilst also giving the room to enjoy our meal in relative peace.

SERVICE

Cannot really be faulted. Staff are efficient, friendly and knowledgeable about the food