The Holly Bush, Little Leigh

Value for money good

Ambience beautiful country pub atmosphere

Speed of service excellent

Quality of food mixed

The Holly Bush, Little Leigh, has always had a certain charm. It's a trait that many pubs have tried to recreate but they still lacked the uniqueness of this old and largely unspoilt pub.

The bar and tap room have to be seen to believed - the bar is no more than a few feet long and the tap room is smaller than many modern living rooms.

Certain parts of the pub and buildings have been modernised but the heart of the pub thankfully still remains.

My husband and I decided to visit The Holly Bush, which is conveniently positioned on the A49, after spending a busy Saturday shopping.

We arrived at 4.30pm and understandably at such an early time had the restaurant to ourselves.

And we were immediately made to feel very welcome and asked to choose from a selection of vacant tables.

Drinks were ordered and brought very quickly while we looked over the vast menu. I opted for the homemade lamb in mint sauce with mash potato and vegetables.

My husband chose a chicken balti from the good selection of curries, which also included red or green Thai, all with a choice of chips, rice or a mixture of both.

We decided not to order starters on the advice from a past diner who had mentioned that main courses were a bit on the large side and as we are both sweet toothed we didn't want to risk not having any room for a desert.

The food soon arrived and we were glad we took the advice, because the portions were huge. The numerous large chunks of lamb were covered in a rich, thick gravy which reminded me of my mother's cooking.

The lamb was beautiful although the mashed potato was slightly lumpy and I found the gravy a little too salty for my liking.

A generous portion of rice and chunky chips accompanied the chicken balti and naan bread. My husband thought the balti was excellent.

The dessert menu was much the same with lots of variety when a few well-known dishes would suffice. I chose the profiteroles and my husband ordered the chocolate lumpy bumpy.

To our disappointment the deserts failed to excite our tastebuds, the profiteroles seemed a little dry and crispy with not much chocolate sauce and my husband said his dessert was no better than one bought from a supermarket.

Overall, apart for the desserts we could not fault The Holly Bush. It is a beautiful country pub with friendly and helpful staff.