Great things were expected of this Restaurant after it was recently awarded a Remy Martin award as one of the best 20 new restaurants of the year. For us it was around a 25 minute drive out into the country to get to the pub; and very pleasant the drive was too. However, if you haven't pre-printed directions then beware of the VERY last second signs that direct you to this tucked away eaterie; at least one Starsky and Hutch-esque screeching tyre turn was required :-).

On arrival we were pleasantly welcomed and shown through to the airy, two sectioned dining area. The service was pleasant and attentive initially and we were quickly looked after for our drinks and food order. We had a mildly pleasant glass of the house Claret to go with our food. The starters we had were Mussels in a very agreeable, if voluminous, scrumpy and herbs sauce and a delicious, if ever so slightly too cold, crab dish which had a kicking horse radish sauce accompaniment. As we were there on a Sunday and having the £20 prix fix Sunday lunch, the choices were probably less than you would normally expect, although sufficiently varied to cover most tastes I would have said. My wife went for the liver and bacon whilst I plumped for the Roast Lamb. For some reason any offer of condiments didn't materialise in our little corner of the restaurant despite there appearing to be plenty on offer elsehwere. By the time we realised we couldn't be bothered to ask for them, but it was a slightly annoying oversight on the part of the waiting staff. The liver and bacon was pleasant without being stunning. The Lamb was 'just' pink in the middle, but was very fatty. My yorkshire pud was somewhat overdone and a bit 'doughy' so I left most of that. I did ask for extra gravy which turned up neatly in a little pot with spoon for ladling across my food; a nice little touch. Vegetables turned up in a shared dish and all mixed in together, which might have been a pain if we hadn't both liked all of the vege therein. Again it was all very pleasant without really taking us to epicurean heights. Finally puddings were a sticky toffee pudding (not as good as the Ivy's, according to the missus!) and profiteroles (I'm no expert, but should the choux pastry be 'crusty'?) with vanilla ice cream in the middle which made them strangely difficult and ever so slightly painful to eat! So all-in-all, a pleasant and enjoyable experience without really being the culinary delight we had been anticipating. Informal discussions with the staff however did start to shed some light on this. The award was won, it would seem, when the previous owners and chef were in situ. The place has recently changed hands and one or two 'amendments' to practices have been introduced such as staff being part time (although regular apparently) rather than full time and one or two cost cutting exercises seem to have been introduced. I fear that the Cabinet may not be able to live up to its newly won reputation unless it irons out some of the 'niggles' that can just take make the difference between OK and great. Jimbo