Rating: *** Tania Taylor enjoys a girly chin-wag – but would have liked a slice of cheesecake!

A good meal, few drinks and girly natter were on the agenda the Saturday night I visited The Bucks Head Hotel with my good friend Michelle.

Michelle had discovered my profile a year ago through a mutual acquaintance on a ‘certain social networking site’ – after no less than 24 years apart, when my parents decided to move house. Okay, so we were only a 10 minute car journey away but when you’re 9-years-old it might as well have been Manchester! She was my first ‘bestest friend’ – so, after all those lost years we’ve always got plenty to chat and gossip about when we get together now.

I’d reserved a table for 7pm earlier in the week, and we arrived just before with our tummies rumbling having virtually ‘starved’ ourselves all day so we could make the most of enjoying a meal we hadn’t had to cook ourselves.

As soon as we stepped through the door we were warmly greeted by man standing at the bar (the owner I later found out), who surprisingly cheery considering the England football team had just drawn their latest qualifier! A table had been reserved for us though we were told that we could chose where we would like to sit if we preferred.

The bar area is quite spacious with traditional surroundings, there’s ample seating including a conservatory and restaurant area which make it ideal for holding celebrations and events, there were quite a few diners enjoying an early evening meal that night.

Eventually, after joking with the staff about our tour, we chose a table on the quieter side of the pub.

We browsed the menu (which was a little sticky!) and made our choices for a starter and main, deciding we’d see if we had room for dessert when the time came. I ordered at the bar, before returning to our table with a couple of beverages and chinwag.

Our table was next to the window and we could see families outside enjoying evening drinks and conversation, while the children ran around in the safety of the garden play area, both of us commented on how friendly and relaxed the atmosphere was.

It wasn’t too long before our starters arrived, Michelle tucked into the Pate (£3.95) which was served with a salad garnish, toast and butter while I tucked into the Sizzling King Prawns in Garlic Sauce (£5.95) served with bread. Michelle enjoyed the meaty pate and I polished off all my prawns (a favourite of mine), however although they were served on a sizzle platter, I was a little disappointed that they didn’t arrive “sizzling”.

Once we were finished, our plates were promptly cleared and our mains were served, it would have been nice to have had a little more time between courses but it was better than having to wait too long, and I appreciate there were a few mouths to feed.

Michelle had ordered the Garlic & Herb Butterfly Chicken Breast (£8.65), served with chips and seasonal vegetables of carrots and peas. The chicken was moist and well seasoned, though her vegetables were a little overcooked as she prefers her veg to have a bit of a “crunch”.

I had the Salmon Tagliatelle (£10.95) served in a cream sauce, accompanied by a side dish of salad and garlic bread. The salmon was perfectly cooked and the sauce was lovely and creamy – not too rich, I found the salad was a refreshing complement – unfortunately I couldn’t quite finish all of my dish I had afters on my mind already!

After our mains had settled we treated ourselves to dessert, Michelle chose the Chocolate Fudge Cake (£4.00), served with ice-cream, and I had the Lemon Meringue Pie (£4.00 – for the record I’d have liked to have seen a cheesecake on the menu!). Both of us were not overly impressed with either of our puddings, don’t get me wrong they weren’t ‘terrible’ but they weren’t anything ‘special’ either, and we didn’t feel that the same amount of attention had gone into the desserts on offer that day when compared with the starters and mains.

Dishes were cleared away and we enjoyed another drink and more chit-chat before settling the bill and heading home for a goodnight’s sleep with satisfied tums.

Overall I had a positive first visit to The Bucks Head Hotel. The staff are very hospitable and nothing would be too much trouble, they’ll even do their very best to cater for guests who may have specific dietary requirements (with suitable notice).

For ease you can browse the menus online beforehand which includes a children’s menu – very handy if there’s a large party of you, and there’s always the daily specials board with changing dishes. You can even book online and they’ll give you a confirmation call back, it couldn’t get any easier!

We left to a loud “Thank you girls!” and a cheery wave goodbye – I’ll definitely be making a return visit, though I’ll just stick to a starter and a main I think, unless a ‘homemade cheesecake’ appears on the menu . . .

Thank you to Christine Montague who contacted us recommending The Bucks Head Hotel. Christine has dined there several times along with her elderly father and has especially enjoyed their Lunch Crunch Meal, where you can have a main course for the great value of £3.95.

ADDRESS
The Bucks Head Hotel, Longlane, Telford TF6 6HA
Tel: 01952 223228