HAVING heard great things about the Rose & Crown I decided to combine a trip to the Coro’s panto with an early tea.

It’s one of few pubs in Ulverston I’ve never been to and I was surprised at the rave reviews I’d heard about the food there given its size.

But you mustn’t underestimate this cosy local because the kitchen is more than capable of creating dishes you’d me more likely to see in a dedicated, established restaurant.

Size clearly isn’t everything.

I can never resist the draw of Bury black pudding (and a fried duck egg to boot) so I went for an option off the specials menu - Black pudding served with Portobello mushroom, a fried duck egg and crispy bacon (£6.95).

Knowing my five-year-old daughter Abigail would never eat both a starter and main she ‘shared’ my starter although as has become her habit she probably ate as much as I did and kept asking for more bacon.

I even put her portion on a small mat (despite me being somewhat embarrassed).

She loved the bacon - as did I, which is unusual as I’m typically very fussy about bacon and prefer thin, crispy rashers to thick pieces. But this was spot on and clearly top quality meat.

Both of us love ‘chucky eggs’ and it was a bonus to come from a duck given its larger size.

And as for the black pudding, well, my attitude to black pudding is I would never buy or eat any that was (no disrespect to supermarkets) the sort of ‘own brand/value’ quality.

Bury black pudding - from my neck of the woods, is to black puddings what Tempur is to mattresses.

I went for the gammon which Abigail had sausage, chips and beans.

The chips were just right - plenty of crispy, thin ones. I did feel the gammon was a bit overcooked and the pineapple - rather than being a slice was a quarter of a full pineapple which was nigh on impossible to cut any from. All style but little substance.

One starter, two mains, two glasses of wine and two Fruit Shoots came to £41.

RATINGS

Food 4

Value 3.5

Atmosphere 4

Pros

A quaint little pub with plenty of character

Attention to detail with the food

Cons

Low seats so you might need to use a cushion for any kids!