The Stone Trough Inn, Kirkham Abbey.

BACK in 2000, judges of the Yorkshire Life Food and Wine Awards decided the Stone Trough Inn at Kirkham Abbey served the best pub food in Yorkshire. Quite an accolade.

That was three years ago. High time for a return visit to this outstanding pub, nestling in a fold of the hills beside the ruins of the historic priory, to see whether it has managed to maintain the same high standard.

We chose a grey Wednesday at the end of August for our visit. We arrived just before the pub opened for lunch at midday, so decided to make a quick tour of the nearby priory grounds to work up an appetite. The views were magnificent, the sense of peace palpable: but thanks to the grey drizzle, by the time we headed back we were more than ready for a warming meal.

Even though it was midweek and the weather miserable, the car park was pretty full - testament to the pub's popularity. Appetising smells came through the open door - and inside, all the tables in the bar area were occupied. Eventually, we managed to squeeze into the snug, a small room reserved for smokers.

The restaurant at The Stone Trough is open Tuesday to Saturday evenings and for Sunday lunch, for more expensive a la carte meals. Bar meals, however, are available from 12-2pm and 6.30-8.30pm - and, as we quickly discovered, you don't need to splash out on an expensive restaurant meal at the Stone Trough to enjoy outstanding food.

We knew we were in for a treat as soon as we cast our eyes over the bar menu. Starters such as warm crab and gruyere tart with saffron mayonnaise (£4.95) and main courses such as pork and herb sausages served on thyme mash with a rich ale gravy (£6.95) and braised lamb shank on creamed mash with bacon lardons, roast shallots and a redcurrant sauce (£10.50) promised that this was no ordinary pub grub. For even more choice, there was a specials board chalked up behind the bar.

We ordered drinks - a decent pint of Black Sheep each for my father and me, fruit juices for my mother and my wife Lily - and pondered the menu. My parents, with their eyes on the main courses, opted out of starters. I chose the soup of the day at £3.75 - it turned out to be carrot and swede - while Lily went for the smoked chicken and bacon Caesar salad at £5.25.

My soup came in a good deep bowl, with a chunk of bread. It had a lovely, rough, fresh-made texture, a subtle flavour, and was deliciously warming. I thought I had chosen well - until I sneaked a forkful of Lily's Caesar salad. Salads can be pointless affairs. This, however, was a masterclass in how it should be done. It was light and crisp and tasty, the smoked chicken and warm bacon adding a wonderful flavour and texture. It was, Lily said, the best salad she had ever tasted. I couldn't disagree.

By this time, we were looking forward even more to our mains. Being a lover of bangers and mash, I had opted for the pork and herb sausages. My mother chose the braised lamb shank, while Lily went for the confit of duck leg served on a spring onion rosti with an oriental sauce (£9.95) and my father chose the calves livers (£13.50) from the specials board.

None of us were disappointed. My sausages looked a little pale, but were beautifully cooked, moist, succulent and bursting out of their skins the moment I cut into them. They were deliciously herby, and the bed of thyme mash on which they came was fragrant and wholesomely tasty.

My mother went into raptures over her lamb - and on tasting it, I could see why. It had a delicious aroma and was melt-in-the-mouth tender, falling off the bone at the touch of a fork. Again, the bed of creamed mash on which it came was outstanding.

Lily and my father did not go into quite such raptures over their own dishes - but that was possibly because they were so busy eating. It was only once their plates had been cleaned they found time to pronounce them "very, very good". We exchanged those rather smug looks that you do when you've just enjoyed a very special meal.

There remained desserts. Lily and my father passed - but I was tempted by the hot lemon and ginger sponge with creamed custard (£3.95), while my mother could not resist the hazelnut shortcakes filled with fresh strawberries and whipped cream (£3.95).

Both were good and satisfying - the shortcakes, which came built up into a tower with the biscuits separated by layers of strawberry and cream, looked spectacular - without quite matching the outstanding quality of the earlier courses. But we were not complaining.

Topped off with four excellent coffees, the bill came to about £78 for four. On the steep side for a pub meal, but this was no ordinary pub food. Outstanding food in outstanding surroundings. What more could you want?

The Stone Trough Inn, Kirkham Abbey. Tel 01653 618713.

Stephen and family visited the Stone Trough on August 27.

Updated: 09:16 Saturday, September 20, 2003