LUNCH out on Grand National Day just had to have an equine theme - although ideally without featuring horsemeat.

So last Saturday I gathered up my husband and my best friend (two people – I don’t go in for all that “my husband is my best friend” guff) and drove them on a convoluted journey to the Brown Horse at Winster.

It’s in the beautiful Winster Valley and as it was a particularly lovely day, we were happy to meander through narrow lanes for what seemed like ages before arriving at the picturesque pub.

The Brown Horse may be somewhat off the beaten track, but it’s very well known. Even The Times restaurant reviewer Giles Coren has been there – and raved about his steak in the framed review which hangs proudly on a wall in the restaurant, along with other glowing testaments from less illustrious newspaper reviewers.

The beer garden was packed but we three headed inside to the very attractive bar and restaurant, settling in the restaurant area – as broad as it’s long, as the menu is the same, regardless of which area you sit in.

Under starter’s orders, we chose our first courses: a chicken caesar salad for Sarah, battered bangers with a curried dipping sauce for me, and carpaccio of ox cheek with truffled potato mousseline for Gordon (hark at him with his posh nosh!).

The Bristol Grammar Vigilante needs to pay a visit with his “apostrophiser” to the Brown Horse – and pronto – to correct this shocker from the menu: “Stornoway black pudding with champ potato’s”. I bet Giles Coren would have something to say about that, too.

The starters came very quickly - we were barely two sips/gulps into our drinks. Sarah’s caesar salad came minus chicken, although that was down to the waitress having misheard, rather than the chef forgetting to put it in the dish. It was fair enough, said Sarah, although a small portion for £6 and nothing special. Gordon liked his ox cheek, which was thinly-sliced and tender. My battered sausages were local, dinky and tasty – the curried dip giving them a lovely punch. I could take or leave the batter, though, and removed most of it – good sausages don’t really need a batter coating.

Our mains also came very quickly. Sarah had chosen haddock, chips and mushy peas for a punchy £13.95; Gordon went for a trio of Cartmel sausages “int’ hole”, with mash, braised cabbage and caramelised onion gravy for £12.50; and I chose the seafood platter for £14.

The haddock was the best of the dishes. Well-cooked, tender fish, lots of chunky chips and a miniature pan of mushy peas. Not the best pub fish and chips ever, was Sarah’s verdict, but perfectly good.

Gordon’s sausages were high quality and the mash and braised cabbage tasty, but he didn’t like the Yorkshire pudding which tasted (and looked) stodgy, and the onion gravy was far too thick. It’s unusual for him to leave much food on his plate, but this time he did.

My seafood platter was completely average. Small, bland prawns, small and slightly rubbery crayfish tails, some good smoked salmon and a very tasty gravadlax encased in a dill coating. Presentation was uninspired, to say the least - and what a handful of potato crisps was doing on the plate, heaven only knows. For £14 this was poor value and I was far from impressed.

Sarah had a passion fruit Eton mess for pudding, a huge affair which came in a lovely glass dish. It was wickedly tasty, although I dead to think what all that cream will have done to Sarah’s cholesterol levels.

Service throughout was friendly but somewhat erratic. The missing chicken from the caesar salad; a request for a whisky and water which resulted in Gordon being brought a Jack Daniels, because the barman “couldn’t find any Scotch so I thought this would do”; no ice in my lime and soda... All minor, but just not quite good enough.

The bill came to a shade over £90, which we all thought was not great value for what had been a lacklustre lunch in parts. The Brown Horse is well known and has a good reputation, but on this occasion the food simply didn’t come up to the mark.

Happily, my next dealings with a brown horse later that day proved far more successful: I won a princely £30 from a £2 each way bet on One For Arthur, which romped home first in the Grand National.

By LOUISE ALLONBY

SCORES

Food 3

Service 3

Value 3

Atmosphere 4

Pros

• Beautiful setting

• Traditional interior

• Attractive beer garden

Cons

• You may need sat nav to find it

• Some dishes need sharpening up