Rating **** James Shaw finds a haven for football fans that serves excellent Shropshire meat.

Whenever I award a pub or restaurant four or five stars, there are always a number of hallmarks that make it stand out.

Of course, they include impeccable service and faultless food. Also, decor is important, as is the atmosphere. The list goes on.

Stellings Sports Bar in Wellington has all these features, but it is a little different from other top-notch eateries. You won’t, for example, find the finest examples of contemporary cuisine, and no-one will nominate it for a Michelin Star.

But should that preclude it from standing out among other pubs in its peer group? The real beauty of Stellings Sports Bar, as Claire and I found, is that it is pretty much faultless.

The building, which was once the Red Lion and then the Wellington Arms, has been completely refurbished. As the title suggests, it is very much themed around sport, and football in particular, with memorabilia spread around the walls. Each area of the pub also has a wallmounted television – the boss certainly knows his target market.

It may have been the fact that our sons were snoozing happily away in their chairs, but we enjoyed a fantastic meal. And that’s before we looked at the final bill.

To begin, I had the mixed grill, while Claire chose the “Premiership burger”. Told you it was themed around football.

My mixed grill consisted of two sausages, lamb, gammon, steak and black pudding. Oh, and the chips. Masses of chips – handcut and so very fluffy with a crispy skin. At just £9.95, it was incredible value. The sausages in particular stand out for praise. All the meat at Stellings is supplied by Andrew Francis of Ludlow and goodness me, you can tell the difference. I would guess that the sausage and mash is a massive hit.

Claire’s burger was eight ounces of meat, cheese and bacon, all crammed into a bun. And the chips. Let’s not forget about the chips. Delicious. The burger, which consisted of two slabs of meat, had no grease and few of those pesky onions that Claire despises. Along with the cheese and bacon, this was a real tummy-filler at just £5.95.

Inside Stellings Sports Bar, Wellington

As we sat back and enjoyed the silence, we found time to take a closer look at our surroundings. The decor, as I said earlier, is themed around sports, but it is also relaxing. Many sports bars have an “in yer face” style with a focus of American sports and all things brash.

I have no shame in saying that Stellings is different – it is very English in its style of decor and long may that continue.

So, on to desserts. The dessert menu, I have to say, was a little restricted, with just a few options to choose from. I chose the chocolate fudge cake, while Claire had banoffee pie.

My cake was moist, tasty and arrived with a huge dollop of ice cream. The glint in Louis’s eye – he had woken up by now – meant I faced a battle for control of the plate. I lost.

Claire’s banoffee pie, meanwhile, had the most wonderful crunchy base, with a lovely creamy topping. Both desserts were a fantastic way to end our meals.

The final bill, along with drinks, came to a very welcome £27 – proof that you can eat some of the best meat that Shropshire has to offer at a snip.

Finally, a note about the star rating. After some debate, I have given Stellings four stars, having discovered that the building has no disabled toilets. But the quality of the food, decor and overall, the experience, was top of the league.

ADDRESS
Stellings Sports Bar, 3 Whitchurch Road, Wellington, Telford TF1 3AG
Tel: 01952 259196
Web: Stellings’ Facebook page

MENU SAMPLE
STARTERS
Hand-cut chips £2; Beer-battered onion rings £2;

MAINS
Fish and chips (Tuesday) £3.95; Lasagne £5.75

DESSERTS
Apple pie £2.50; Childs’ ice-cream £1

SERVICE
Nothing to complain about – polite and informative about the food.

ATMOSPHERE
We visited during a quiet lunchtime, but evenings would certainly be a lively affair

DISABLED FACILITIES
All the pub is on one level, but there are no disabled toilets