THERE'S little point in 'just turning up' at the Farmers in Ulverston.

Not only is this a popular choice for drinkers but, and despite the recently-extended and refurbished dining area, you'll be lucky to find a table if you've not booked in advance.

And it's clear to see why a meal at this busy town centre pub is so in demand.

Flicking through the menu you are faced with something of a dilemma because there's literally so much to choose from and everything sounds (and smells and looks) delicious.

Starters include deep-fried Panko'd goats cheese (£6.95), sizzling garlic and chilli prawns (£7.50) and Hoisin duck quesadilla (£6.50).

The main menu is separated into traditional dishes, pizzas, salads, and fish.

There's beef brisket (£14), slow and low pork ribs (£13), Mediterranean kebab (£14), mussels (£14), Greek salad (£12), and a hot and fiery pizza (£12) which I was sorely tempted to opt for.

However, given that Abigail wanted sausages and mash she insisted I have 'something with chips' so she could steal some (most), I went for the Farmers burger (£13) which came with perfect onion rings and melted cheese on top of crispy bacon (the only way bacon should be cooked).

My friend Tim had the hog boss burger (£14) which is the same but served with sticky pulled pork piled on top of the burger.

I was impressed with the amount of veggies which came with Abigail's dish - parsnip (she initially thought these were chips so wolfed them down), sprouts (bizarrely one of her favourite vegetables), red cabbage and carrots.

I can never resist the temptation of halloumi so we also had a side of halloumi brick chips served with chipotle and garlic mayo dip (£6.50).

The halloumi chips were a bit too thick for my liking (although I suppose the name 'brick' should have told me what to expect) but the dip was lovely and I ended up using that with my burger and chips.

It was a real battle to refrain from a dessert having been torn between the lemon meringue sundae (£5) and Eton mess (£5) but Abigail clearly has even less restraint and couldn't resist an ice cream.

With drinks our meal came to £70.

Food 4.5

Value 3.5

Atmosphere 4

Pros

Almost unlimited choice

Fantastic surroundings

Cons

Seemed slightly under-staffed