I had expected a routine eating-out assignment. You know the kind of thing: historic country pub, traditional food, good beer.... Well, the Blacksmiths Arms at Flaxton certainly had some of that to offer, but it also left me puzzling over a bit of a culinary mystery.

But let’s start at the beginning. I have regularly seen this one-time coaching inn, which dates back some 250 years, while rat-running through Flaxton to avoid jams on the nearby A64. It’s a rather attractive building situated on the edge of a picturesque and linear village green. Now I had a chance to see if the pub, run by Andrew and Lorraine Ritchie, was as charming inside as it appeared on the outside.

I rang in advance to book a table last Friday night, and was told they could fit us in. It was just as well I had rung. The place was buzzing when we arrived. We had expected to be directed to a dining room but instead were shown to a table in the carpeted and crowded bar. To our delight, our table for two was situated right next to a blazing log fire – just the ticket on a dark and chilly January night.

We found a menu on the bar and sat down to study it. All of the food was said to be cooked by Lorraine, with meat, fish, and vegetables sourced locally. As all food was cooked to order, we were asked to be patient. Surprisingly, the menu contained no veggie options, but it informed us they would be displayed on the specials blackboard.

Equally surprisingly, I could find none listed there either but, on inquiring behind the bar, I discovered that at least two such dishes were available. We waited for someone to take our order until we discovered we needed to go to the bar to place it.

For starters, I opted for hot and spicy Atlantic prawns, marinated and deep fried in bread crumbs and served with a sweet chilli dip and salad, for £4.25. My wife chose the chef’s soup of the day – French onion soup – for £3.95.

The prawns were big and indeed in a hot and spicy coating, and the dip was even more spicy, with a nice salad. A good start to my meal. My wife was less impressed with her soup, which she found glutinous and salty, with just tiny shreds of onion. I tasted some and could not argue with her verdict.

For mains, my wife chose chicken breast served with a mushroom and white-wine sauce, and potatoes and vegetables, for £8.95, while I was tempted by a dish described as the “much talked about Flaxton flipper,” a giant haddock cooked in a beer batter, but I eventually selected shank of pork with cider and apple sauce, and served with chips and peas, for £9.95. I asked for a pint of York Brewery’s excellent Guzzler beer to accompany the meal, while my wife asked for a tonic water.

My wife said the chicken, served with potatoes and a range of vegetables, was well cooked, and the sauce tasty.

As I tucked into my meal, I was struck by two things: firstly how beautifully cooked it was, with the meat falling easily off the bone and the accompanying chips crisp and golden, and secondly how I must have been served the wrong dish.

Surely the sauce wasn’t made with apples and cider, I thought.

After all, it was red and it didn’t taste remotely appley or ciderly: it was unlike any apple and cider sauce I had ever eaten before.

Perhaps I had accidentally been given shank of lamb, served with red wine sauce.

I explained the “error” and my dish was whisked away. But minutes later, I was assured that I hadn’t been given the wrong dish: this really was the pork with apple and cider sauce. I was then given a fresh plate of the same food. I remained baffled, but decided just to get on with enjoying the rather delicious meal.

Before pudding, I popped to the loo and found it clean but very chilly – the radiator wasn’t on despite it being a cold night; it should have been.

I had little room for pudding, but fancied brandy snap basket, filled with mint ice cream and topped with masses of cream and an after-diner mint, for £3.75.

It was a refreshing and lovely way to finish the meal, the total bill for which came to a pretty reasonable £34.97.

We headed off into the night, replete but still with that nagging feeling of puzzlement.

•Mike visited the Blacksmiths Arms on Friday January 23.

•Blacksmiths Arms, Flaxton.

Tel: 01904 468210