Tontine Hotel, Ironbridge

Star rating: *** James Shaw and his wife claire enjoy great value dining.

Star rating: ***

James Shaw and his wife claire enjoy great value dining.

A World Heritage Site such as Ironbridge brings all sorts of expectations – lashings of history, endless tales to tell . . . and, some would expect, high prices.

Indeed, it is tempting for a shop, pub or restaurant to charge a premium for the experience of shopping and eating within yards of THAT bridge.

But the Tontine, located just yards from the main focus of The Gorge, has stuck steadfastly to the basics of pub grub, with little sign of that changing.

The food may not achieve the standards of its pricier neighbours, but for many visitors to Ironbridge, price is currently a hot topic.

Claire and I decided to take advantage of a rare nap by The Little One and enjoy a quiet afternoon watching the world and his (or her) dog go by.

Refreshingly, all signs pointed towards it being a "proper" pub – the visit of a regular customer with his friendly pup served to re-inforce this opinion.

He remained for some time, whereas other pubs would see this as a so-called "danger" and shoo the customer, along with his pooch, away.

We were both eager to grapple with the menu and decided to forego starters in favour of larger main courses.

I decided to try the 16oz rump steak, while Claire was happy enough to tackle a gammon steak.

The wait for our main courses was a tad longer than we would have liked, but nothing to complain about.

My steak came smothered in an ordered extra serving of peppercorn sauce, and was more or less what I expected.

Bearing in mind I had ordered medium-rare, I was able to wallow in the juices, along with the delicious sauce.

I did, however, find a few strings of fat that took a little something away from the overall experience.

And, just for the record, I managed to clear the plate of all 16 ounces . . . apart from the chips, of course!

Claire, on the other side of the table, had few problems with fatty sections in her gammon.

There were the usual tough edges of fat to contend with, although nothing out of the ordinary.

And judging by Claire's compliments, it certainly matched my meal in the juicy stakes.

Both courses, as you would expect, were served with good-sized portions of chips, even if many of mine went uneaten.

By now, young Louis had awoken from his nap and was entertaining the pub with his infectious grin.

And that was a feature I couldn't ignore – the number of customers who were simply interested in chatting.

Nothing intrusive, you understand, rather a happy way of making people – and pets – feel welcome.

Our desserts, therefore, were a welcome arrival on the table. I ordered a Jaffa sponge, while Claire asked for ice cream with wafers.

Despite Louis' determined efforts to make a grab for our food, we both managed to eat enough of each dish to form an opinion.

Bearing in mind my earlier marathon effort in eating an 16oz steak, I fully appreciated the smaller than expected Jaffa sponge. It was moist and just about hit the spot in terms of strength of flavour.

Fears over the cake being too tangy were settled from the first spoonful.

Claire's ice cream was a tad unspectacular, although perfectly tasty.

There is little that can done with a basic dessert of ice cream so, once again, we had few complaints.

And as our lazy afternoon eased to its conclusion, the arrival of the bill had little to startle us.

At a tad over £35, including drinks, the bill was certainly lower than expected. The prices we found would have fitted in at any other pub in the Telford area, or indeed anywhere in Shropshire.

The presence of a World Heritage Site just yards away really was an added bonus.

MENU SAMPLE

Starters

Thai fishcakes (£4.75)

Spicy chicken wings (£4.25)

Main courses

Beef and ale pie (£6.95)

Lamb shank (£8.50)

Desserts

Rhubarb and apple crumble (£3.50)

Sticky toffee pudding (£3.50)

ATMOSPHERE