Simon Ritchie hits the bull's-eye with a traditional pub meal out at Escrick

THE residents of Escrick are a lucky lot. This little village, which straddles the A19 between York and Selby, boasts two top eating establishments.

There's the Parsonage Country House Hotel, which has won awards for its cuisine, and at the heart of the village, the Black Bull Inn, which has gained a good reputation for its wholesome fare.

The Black Bull, where we dined last Tuesday evening, is about as traditional as an English pub can get. Outside it is all whitewashed walls and chimneys and inside exposed beams, plates and a roaring log fire.

It has a separate dining room, but we chose to stay in the main body of the pub where the other diners were eating. It's always a good sign when you are not the only ones eating out on a chilly Tuesday night!

There was a variety of starters to choose from, or hot and cold beginnings as the pub rather bizarrely calls them, and the prices varied too, from £2.25 for the soup of the day to a rather pricey £4.75 for the fantail avocado with prawns.

After much deliberation, I chose skillet (£3.45) - a tasty concoction of chopped mushrooms, bacon and slices of sausage fried in garlic butter. It was delicious and very moreish and one which I'll try to recreate at home.

My wife, Jayne, enjoyed the mini savoury selection which consisted of crunchy onion bhajis, aloo tikkas, spinach pakoras and vegetable samosas all deep fried and served with two dips.

Our waitress wasn't quite sure whether any eastern parcels contained meat, but luckily for Jayne, a vegetarian, they did not.

Both dishes came with the obligatory starter side salads - tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce and coleslaw - which weren't really necessary.

Deciding what to have for main course proved to be pretty difficult as there was so much to chose from. Dishes included cajun chicken, beef steak and mushroom pot, roast duckling and Cumberland sausage as well as a number of Indian balti offerings and blackboard specials.

Diners with a 'larger appetite' can tuck into a 20oz leg of lamb, a 14oz lamb shank, a massive mixed grill or a 16oz haddock.

The most expensive dish on the menu - a 16oz rump steak served with onion rings, tomato and mushrooms - cost only £12.95. Good value indeed.

In the end I went for salmon, halibut and prawn wellington (£7.50) - succulent pieces of fish covered in a rich, creamy cheese sauces and wrapped in a blanket of flaky puff pastry. I don't normally have fish when I dine out, but if other restaurants can achieve the same high standard as the Black Bull, then I'll choose it more often.

Jayne was impressed with her vegetable lasagne, one of three vegetarian options available, all priced at £5.75. It came in a large tureen and Jayne struggled to finish.

Both dishes came with broccoli florets, peas, carrots and new potatoes all cooked to perfection, although the potatoes would have been tastier if a little butter had been melted over them.

Despite being rather full, I still planned to have a pudding - we were sat next to the sweet selection board and I had been admiring the choice of desserts all evening. But as soon as we had finished our main courses, our waitress began to remove our place mats.

When I asked if I could have dessert, she said the chef had gone home (it was 9.40pm and he apparently leaves at 9.30pm on week days), but she could rustle something up if we wanted.

Jayne declined, but I picked pecan and toffee bombe. "That's ice cream isn't it?," she asked and off she went to the kitchen.

She returned minutes later with a healthy dollop of icecream surrounded by twirls of whipped cream. Naughty, but nice!

With a couple of pints of lager and two soft drinks, the bill came to £26.25, excellent value considering the quality and quantity of the food.

So next time you're looking for a new place to eat why not take the bull by the horns and take a trip to Escrick.

Food ****

Service ***

Value ****

Ambience ***

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