Katie Bond and her friend find a great place to put the world to rights

EAT AT:

The Churchill, Swindon Road, Royal Wootton Bassett, SN4 8ET.

Tel: 01793 849848

FOR a number of years, The Churchill in Royal Wootton Bassett has been the pub of choice for my friend Scott and I to meet and put the world to rights.

Last spring, the pub reopened after a complete refurbishment as part of the Eating Inn pub group, promising “a brand new concept in pub dining”.

We went on a Wednesday night and the car park was nowhere near as full as we have previously seen it at a weekend.

As we entered we were shown straight to a table and asked by a friendly waiter if it was okay for us.

Considering it was mid-week, the restaurant was fairly busy, mainly with couples and groups of older people, although that may have been because we were seated away from the area designated for families with young childen.

The menu included everything from fish dishes to steaks, burgers and traditional pub grub. It was both varied and affordable and kept us dithering for a while.

Evenutally, we went for a starter of sweet chilli chicken goujons (£4.59), but not wanting to spoil our mains we decided to share.

The crispy goujons came coated in a sweet red pepper and chilli glaze, served on a bed of mixed leaves – a perfect way to start the meal and just the right amount to share (unless you are feeling especially hungry).

For mains, Scott chose the rump steak with chips accompanied with grilled field mushroom, grilled tomato and peas (£9.89), while I went for the British beef and ale pie, which I had with chips as opposed to the mashed potato listed on the menu (£8.59).

The beef in the pie was tender and there was plenty of it, and the chips were crispy on the outside and fluffy inside – just how I like them.

Scott’s rare steak was juicy and cooked perfectly to his liking.

We were pretty full by this time, but I always find it rude not to have a dessert so I opted for the Caramello (£4.19), made up of smooth caramel ice cream, real caramel, vanilla ice cream, fresh whipped cream, toffee sauce and sugar curls.

Scott chose the apple flapjack crumble cheesecake (£4.19) – a vanilla cheesecake topped with apple compote and flapjack crumble. His conclusion was “very nice, but very rich”.

The service was efficient throughout the evening and, with two soft drinks, our bill came to just £30.26, which made us feel slightly less guilty about eating out on a school night.

If it’s affordable food and a friendly, cosy atmosphere you are after, The Churchill is ideal, especially during the week.

At weekends, the family-friendly pub can get busy, so booking would be a wise decision.