The Ferry, Walney

Early last year I visited The Ferry on Walney to review this once-smart pub and restaurant's carvery.

While the food was tasty and great value and the service friendly, it was an understatement to describe the actual premises as tired.

The Ferry was so scruffy, so tattily-curtained, so upholstery-stained, so chipped-paint run-down, anyone walking in for the first time would have been excused for thinking Waynetta Slob had branched into interior design.

Now, however, after a major makeover, it's all very different. The owner of the Ferry – a national chain of eateries called Stonehouse Restaurants – has clearly spent a lot of money. But not, in my opinion (and this is, of course, only my opinion), in a good way.

Words almost fail me after an early evening visit this week. The pointless pieces of white picket fencing flanking the front door of the newly-painted grey and white exterior are but a precursor to the visual madness to be encountered within.

Part American diner, part Scottish golf club, this is a riot of tartan upholstery clashing with bright purple brocade, shiny satin and faux leather; of neon signs clashing with chandeliers and wall lamps so diverse it looks as though someone's ram-raided the lighting section of B&Q; of gold and turquoise swirly carpets on which sit slightly mismatched dining tables and chairs; of checked curtains and garishly-patterned slabs of wallpaper; and of children's white plastic high chairs which look like NHS-issue commodes.

It's as if The Ferry has been redesigned by a committee comprising Donald Trump, Del Trotter, Jeremy Hunt and The Fonz. Others may like this attempt to be eclectic. It often works well. I, however, loathed it.

But enough of the decor. What of the food and service at the new-look Ferry?

The menu – as with all eating establishments of this kind – is varied, with lots of pictures of what the food is going to look like.

The Ferry is part carvery, part pizzeria, with classics such as fish and chips, burgers etc to cover the full range of pub-style eating requirements. There is a smallish range of starters – deep fried prawns, spare ribs, soup and chicken wings being among the offerings. The prawns we wanted weren't available so we chose chicken dippers and spicy potato wedges – each round the £3.50 mark.

For mains, Gordon went for the carvery while I opted for a vegetarian pizza. I was almost – but not quite – tempted to order the fish finger pizza, comprising six fish fingers on a pizza base, but I bottled it at the last minute. Orders are taken at the bar; and you get a bleeper device to tell you when your pizza or other non-carvery dish is ready.

The starters came in blue and white enamel-style dishes which looked like hospital specimen bowls circa 1950 – the sort Hattie Jacques would have borne menacingly towards a nervous-looking Sid James in Carry on Matron .

The chicken dippers were chunky and juicy, and the potato wedges tasted a lot better than they looked (at first glance, I thought they were smothered in custard – turned out it was cheese sauce).

When my bleeper went to tell me the pizza was ready, I dispatched Gordon to collect it for me. He came back with a gigantic square pizza on a round plate, and an accompanying side of chips and a load of salad which he had plonked on top of the pizza.

He himself had turkey and ham from the carvery with a selection of traditional veg.

My pizza was lovely, with masses of clearly fresh vegetables on a good thin crispy base. Far too much, especially with the salad and chips, too. I can see why the pizzas are proving so popular here, as the friendly waitress informed me when she came to clear away.

Gordon's carvery was plain and simple but tasty enough, although the peas looked a bit dried out. The meat was good, the roast potatoes crisp, and with a plentiful choice of veg. It's great value – and no wonder that The Ferry was doing a brisk early evening trade.

You can have as much as you can get on a plate, essentially, which makes £5.49 for a standard carvery a bargain indeed. My pizza was £6.99 – also good value.

We had ordered a creme brûlée for pudding but after a half-hour wait a waitress came over to announce that they'd looked everywhere in the kitchen (hence the delay) but couldn't find any creme brûlées.

Full marks for not even attempting to pretend that the missing creme brûlées were being made on the premises. Would we like it taking off the bill, she asked, somewhat unnecessarily. We were hardly likely to insist they charged us for a non-existent dessert.

Without the the pudding but with drinks, the bill came to £27. It really is very good value.

The food is standard carvery fare: wholesome but nothing special. The staff are friendly and hard-working. The decor didn't do it for me at all – but I'm sure others will like this slightly bonkers look.

On balance, I preferred the old version. It may have been tatty but at least it didn't make me think of Donald Trump.

By Louise Allonby

Ratings (out of five):

Food: 3.5

Service: 4

Value: 4

Atmosphere: 2

Pros

Family friendly

Lots of parking

Great value

Cons

Unsubtle decor

Limited table service