MY family and I have had a bit of a complicated relationship with Mold's Fat Boar thus far. It's been on my review list for over a year but during that time we've visited three times and not managed to eat. On one of these occasions the staff were enjoying their Christmas party, on another it was being closed for a refurbishment and on the last occasion it was simply booked up.

All of this had properly whetted our appetites before we finally managed to get a seat on a Sunday afternoon after a trip to Theatr Clwyd. Right from the off we felt at home: the pub opened in 2015 after spending months gutting the old building and they've created a new venue which feels welcoming and somewhere you could imagine spending a lot of time with family and friends. Our waiter was superb, fussing over our three children, one of whom is only a couple of months old, and immediately putting us at ease.

A two course deal for £16 saw me picking the mini sticky sausages with garlic mayonnaise and my wife choosing the leek & potato soup, fresh bread. Expecting a small starter I was rewarded with a whole bowl full of six delicious sausages that were anything but 'mini' with the dish leaving me worried how on earth I was going to manage a main course.

In fact so good was the menu I was in about three or four minds about what to have and took advice from our excellent server who recommended I tried the pan seared sea bass with citrus crushed potatoes, sauce vierge and tender stem broccoli. I'm glad I did: the vierge sauce, made from olive oil, lemon juice, chopped tomato and chopped basil, went beautifully with the moist sea bass on a plate that looked and smelt incredibly elegant. My wife plumped for the mushroom wellington with Yorkshire pudding, mushroom gravy and was rewarded with a whole heap of vegetables including carrot and swede mash, braised red cabbage, buttered panache, rosemary and garlic roast potatoes. It was a mountain of food and that will be our abiding memory of the Fat Boar - the helpings are huge and it's no wonder our porcine friend got his moniker.

The kids were kept happy with a specialist menu from which they chose mini battered fish, hand cut chips with garden peas and kids pasta, tomato sauce and cheesy garlic bread. Both plates were left clean.

Thankfully there was even chance to try out the pub's excellent real ale selection and we left glad we'd given the Fat Boar another chance.

The Fat Boar, 17 Chester Street, Mold, Flintshire, CH7 1EG. Telephone: 01352 759890

How it rated:

Food - 8/10

Ambience - 8/10

Service - 9/10

Disabled access -yes

Children welcome - yes