Euston Way, Telford

Reviewer's rating: *** James Shaw makes a track for Telford - and was reasonably chuffed

Reviewer's rating: *** James Shaw makes a track for Telford - and was reasonably chuffed

My favourite trick when eating out is to have a bit of fun – if you can't do that, then the meal often falls flat on its face.

That was very much the agenda when Claire and I met up with a group of old college friends at the Euston Way, next to Telford Central railway station.

It is always fun when we gather and recall past events with great amusement – often, it must be said, at the expense of my own dignity.

We didn't, however, think the biggest laugh of the night would be at the pub itself. But more about that later.

I must confess that we have reviewed the Euston Way before and never been especially impressed.

Although the food has always been tasty and efficiently served, there has never been any real 'personality' to the place.

Our initial impressions as we prepared to eat pointed towards a depressingly similar conclusion.

The perennial problem with many similar chain pubs is that they lack the individuality of independent outfits.

But to judge a place so early would be unfair.

And the choices on the menu gave a tiny indication that the Euston Way may well be breaking a very tightly defined mould.

To begin, I chose the crispy potato shells, while Claire went for the old favourite –

vegetable soup.

There were, however, some options that were just a little different from the standard chain-pub fare.

I'm not a fan of skewered prawns or whitebait, but they definitely added extra colour to the menu.

Perhaps my potato skins were not the best choice.

As a stickler for detail, I was disappointed to find the skins were in no way crispy – a minor point, but still relevant.

And the filling of bacon and mushroom just missed the mark in terms of taste and texture.

Claire, however, was enjoying her vegetable soup.

It contained plenty of chunky vegetable pieces, with a lovely hint of spice to expand the flavour.

If the starters were a little bit of a let-down, then the main courses made up the difference.

Again, the menu was more varied than we had expected.

In fact, there were more choices than I have seen on any other menu for quite some time.

I opted for chargrilled chicken with mandarin and chilli glaze, while Claire played safe and chose a rump steak.

The marinade of my chicken certainly made the difference to a meat that is sometimes a little bland.

Not too rich, I might, add, but just enough to leave me wanting more.

The chips were a little bit of a let-down (I made a mistake and forgot to order rice), although the vegetables were superb.

The green beans were delicious, crispy and provided an ideal way to finish the course.

Claire was equally delighted were her choice of steak.

The accompanying chips and vegetables were forced to take a back seat to the melt-in-the-mouth meat.

Again, those chips were a disappointment, but the vegetables more than made amends.

Away from the food, conversation flowed as those recollections of the past became ever louder. But the biggest giggle of the night was saved for the final part of our meal.

Claire and I were delighted with our choices of mixed ice-cream and baked vanilla cheesecake.

My ice-cream in particular was a joy and contained plenty of chunky chocolate pieces.

My friend Lance, however, was simply confused by his cheeseboard.

It was a little sparse, perhaps, with only a few different cheeses – and the challenge of a spoon to cut it with.

We are not sure how the staff failed to notice how a spoon made it onto the cheesboard instead of a knife.

For a few moments, we stared at each other in disbelief, before bursting into fits of laughter.

It was that kind of night.

MENU SAMPLE

Starters

Prawn cocktail (£3.99)

Maple pork ribs (£4.75)

Main courses