Lord Moreton, Oswestry

After a week-long holiday in Spain, my husband John, son Eddie and I, joined by my parents, were all ready for a bite to eat when we neared home after the journey from Manchester Airport.

We had heard good reports from family members about the carvery at the Lord Moreton and knew they cooked later than other venues which usually stop serving at 2pm.

We have eaten at the Lord Moreton several times but remember the last carvery experience several years ago not scoring top marks. But we know how a restaurant can change in months, never mind years and everywhere deserves a second chance.

I had also seen on a friend's Facebook page that a new menu had been launched so the Lord Moreton it was.

What I have always liked about the Lord Moreton is that although it has a children's soft play area, which is very popular, it is separate to the dining area. You don't get bare footed toddlers screaming and running from the play area back to their tables.

On arrival the car park was busy (always a good sign) and after being greeted by a polite young waitress, we were shown to a window table.

A highchair was brought for Eddie (fortunately for us he's too young to say he wants to go in the play pen just yet!) so straight to the menu it was.

The Sunday lunch menu offers a selection of starters, the carvery and a limited selection of main courses, followed by desserts.

I ordered the home-made soup of the day, which was tomato, and served with a huge chunk of fresh bread. While the rest of the party enjoyed prawn cocktails - again a good generous portion with plump prawns and fresh bread. It was good to see a selection of starters, even though it was a fixed price menu.

The starters were soon polished off and we had had drinks served to our table. After our starters were cleared, we were told we could go up for the carvery in our own time.

While enjoying our starters, my dad commented on the paintwork (typical dad thing to do!) but on a serious note - it is small maintenance jobs which can let a venue down.

The pub may have been new once but it isn't any more. The wall was badly marked where obviously tables had been moved - general wear and tear but a lick of paint would soon sort it out.

Anyway, on to the main courses. We went up for our food in two parties due to the need for someone to watch our little boy and the first comment from myself and my husband was "mash"! Very few carveries offer the choice of mash.

Before that we had obviously enjoyed the offer of beef, turkey or pork. Both John and I went for the beef and turkey - both were extremely tender and tasty and served in generous portions. The choice of fresh, hot vegetables included delicious creamed carrots (which went down a treat with Eddie!), green beans, crisp roast potatoes and very creamy full-fat mash. Oh not forgetting the pigs in blanket! (I thought it was Christmas already!)

The chef allowed us to help ourselves to stuffing and Yorkshire pudding which was a nice offering - I did just stick to the one though!

Topped with tasty home-made gravy - back to the table we went.

All four members of the party commented how tender and succulent the meat was when the discussion turned to whether £9.50 was too dear for a carvery.

But as regular review readers will know, I say "you only get what you pay for" and on a £5 carvery you certainly don't get the quality that we enjoyed (or the mash for that matter!)

The only other issue raised (a general one towards carveries and not just about the Lord Moreton) was that they never offer separate gravies for the different meats. Mum made the point she would have preferred a lighter gravy with turkey or pork than the dark (although nice, beef tasting) gravy offered.

Rather reasonably it was only an extra £2 for a starter or a dessert, so although £9.50 sounds more expensive than usual for a carvery the three course offer was extremely reasonable.

So although we wanted to taste the desserts we were simply too full and we were forced to leave that for another time.

I fear the next time we may not get away without a visit to the play barn but hope to return soon to try out the revamped menu. Apparently a new manager is in post and has brought his new ideas and menu choices with him - good for him - let's hope the service and food quality continues under his leadership.

The Lord Moreton is spacious and gives plenty of room for all size parties, including a raised area which is ideal for larger parties.

I have also enjoyed great functions there and even children's parties but as I said earlier the children's area is completely separate to the dining area so people who have had a bad experience at similar chain-run soft play barns should have no fears.

We'll certainly be back to try out the new summer menu in the near future - and the dessert menu for that matter too.

ADDRESS

Lord Moreton, Moreton Park, near Oswestry, LL14 5DG

Tel: 01691 776666

MENU SAMPLE

STARTERS

Scallops of the day (£7.45); Prawn cocktail (£4.95); Red onion tart tatin, goats cheese and onion marmalade and rocket (£5.45)

MAIN COURSES

Thai green curry, chicken breast, wild rice and spinach (£10.45); Slow roasted lamb shank, Mediterranean vegetables and creamy mash (£14.95); Sirloin of Welsh beef 10oz, wilted spinach, tomato and chips (£15.95); Salmon linguini, prawns , chilli and cream (£4.95/£8.95)

DESSERTS

Selection of desserts available.

ATMOSPHERE

Gastro-pub with a friendly, welcoming atmosphere

SERVICE

Professional and friendly

DISABLED FACILITIES

Access, toilets and parking available