Mawdesley: The Black Bull

9:45am Wednesday 11th June 2008

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I could have lounged around The Black Bull in Mawdesley for the best part of Sunday afternoon, such is the atmosphere of this oldie worldie pub.

Tucked away off the main road the pub is full of charm and character.

Inside the decor and seating area are nothing special and nothing more than you'd expect from a 16th century pub, but there's a really relaxing home-from-home feel to the place.

Although the huge benched seating outdoor area with lovely floral displays looked tempting, my daughter's hayfever meant we had to enjoy our lunch indoors.

From the menu of all the usual options I'm glad I went for the a very lovely minestrone soup of the day while my youngster enjoyed a feast of potato wedges with cheese.

My steak, Guinness and mushroom pie main was very meat-filled and came with home-cooked chips, crisp broccoli and carrots and lashings of lovely gravy on top. Delicious.

My 'mostly' veggie daughter was disappointed there were no meat-free meals on the table menu but found a vegetable lasagne among a handful of options on the board.

She was delighted that the huge portion, served with chips and salad, tasted "delicious" although a little too tomato-y.

The bill, including a white wine spritzer and Pepsi, was just shy of £30 and very reasonable for what we got.

Service was efficient and polite but not pushy - I doubt no-one would have minded if I'd got the paper out and done a crossword for half the day.

An assortment of booklets with local walks and village magazines are located near the bar for people interested in touring this picturesque part of the world.

How did it fare? (Out of Six Stars): Food: *****, Atmosphere ******, Service ******, Drink *****, Value ******