WE ARRIVED too late for lunch and too early for dinner, but The Boot at Northop served up a good value three course menu that promised to be
satisfying.

One of my two hungry alpha male companions started with baby button mushrooms with bacon in a creamy garlic sauce, and I opened with a cheese and onion tartlet on a bed of crisp salad.

Sadly the pastry case had lost its mojo, with a texture that showed all the signs of being blitzed in the microwave, but the filling was very tasty and a savoury overture to the meal.

Our mains of slow braised steak with a choice of vegetables and lamb’s liver and bacon served with mash and a red wine onion gravy, were delicious, but the trio of sausages with onion gravy and mash proved my downfall.

They weren’t to my taste and were too large for my appetite.

The vegetables, however were fresh and plentiful, so I filled up on those together with the onion gravy, as we chatted away in the friendly atmosphere and ambience for which this old coaching inn is well known locally.

It’s certainly a pleasant spot to while away a summer’s afternoon.

Although sorely tempted, neither of my companions could manage a dessert. All the usual suspects were there, with lemon meringue pie jostling for top slot with chocolate fudge cake, sticky toffee pudding and strawberries and cream.

I happily tucked into the lemon meringue, with its rich and colourful accompaniment of cherries. It ticked all the boxes: meringue slightly crunchy on top with a gooey, chewy inside, above a tangy layer of lemon, and this time the pastry was just right.

Overall we enjoyed the experience and would defy anyone to say it was not good value, with a special offer of £11 for two on the mains menu.

The bill for all three with drinks came to just under £29, and that’s a bargain in anyone’s book.