Horseshoes Inn, Levisham

The pleasure of dining out at a country pub can sometimes be spoilt by the long drive there along winding country roads. You can emerge from your car feeling slightly nauseous, and with little appetite.

But my family and I were positively ravenous by the time we reached the Horseshoe Inn at Levisham for Saturday lunch recently. We had taken advantage of some glorious September weather to go on one of North Yorkshire's most spectacular and beautiful walks down to the pretty little village through the Hole of Horcum. We parked up on the Whitby-Pickering road by late morning, and descended down through the huge bowl, carved by glaciers out of the North York Moors. An added frisson of excitement was provided along the three-mile trek by an adder which slithered straight across my son Matthew's path.

We arrived at the Horsehoes Inn just ahead of a huge bunch of other hikers. But there were plenty of diners already there, many of whom had come by car to enjoy Saturday lunch in the autumn sunshine.

The attractive stone-built pub, said to date back to the 16th century, is at the top of a long and picturesque village green. The beer tables were all occupied so we found a table inside the carpeted bar, complete with comfortable seating.

I had rung beforehand to ask what sort of food they served: the usual bar food, but of a high quality, was the gist of the brisk reply.

Looking at the menu, this appeared to be true. This wasn't your bog-standard chicken and chips, accompanied by a limp lettuce leaf and slice of tomato. But nor were the prices bottom of the range either, with fillet of steak garni coming in at £12.95, and a special sauce to accompany it costing an extra £2.50. The total bill for the four of us at the end of our meal topped £50, which seemed high for a bar meal - even of a good standard.

We decided to sample a couple of starters before moving on to the main dishes, asking for the home-made soup of the day for £3.25 (carrot and coriander this day) and Wensleydale and Apple Salad, with a honey herb dressing, for £3.95. I ordered at the bar, where I found the service to be more prompt, brisk and efficient than smiling and welcoming - but then it was very busy.

The soup was not bad, while a little watery and not exactly bursting with flavour, but the cheese and salad was delicious and fresh.

The menu had warned that food was individually prepared and could take up to half an hour to serve, and our patience was requested. It was busy, and I feared the worst for our hungry daughter and son, but we waited no more than 15 minutes.

For the main course my wife opted for the steak garni, which was garnished with mushrooms, tomatoes and onion rings, and served with chips. She said the steak was excellent: tender and mercifully gristle free - and there was so much of it that I had to help finish it off. My son went veggie, choosing a broccoli and cheese pasta bake, served with salad and garlic bread, for £7.25. His reaction was unenthusiastic - it's OK, he said.

I could not resist the Horseshoe Gammon, served with pineapple and French fries, for £8.25. The gammon was everything I wanted: not too salty, not too stringy, plenty of it.

My daughter Gabrielle, ever adventurous, wanted chicken dinosaurs and chips for £3.50. She said they were nice, although she would have preferred a choice of baked beans as an accompaniment instead of peas.

By now, our hunger had been vanquished, and more.

But I decided I could just about manage a pudding, and asked for hot chocolate fudge cake, served with a chocolate sauce and ice cream, for £3.50.

It was so gorgeous that I ploughed on until the plate was clean, when more sensible diners may have called it a day. But that was no problem; there was still plenty of exercise to come with that three-mile trek back up the Hole of Horcum to the car.

Fact file:

Food: good

Service: brisk

Value: slightly expensive

Ambience: smart

Disabled facilities: yes

Horseshoes Inn, Levisham.

01751 460240.

Mike dined out on Saturday, September 13.

Restaurant reviewers aim to be fair and accurate. Any comments on this review should be addressed to Chris Titley, Features Content Editor, Evening Press, 76-86 Walmgate, York, YO1 9YN or e-mail features@ycp.co.uk

Updated: 09:38 Saturday, September 27, 2003