A Sunday drive in the country for Emma Johnson means finding pub heaven

SUNDAY afternoons are made for drives in the country. And that was what we had been enjoying on the afternoon when we found ourselves dining in the cosy surroundings of The Thorn Inn, at Appleton.

When I tell you that I live in Warrington, you may think that was not much of a drive. Truth is, we had been over half of Merseyside and into Lancashire but, unable to agree on somewhere beyond our Cheshire boundaries for Sunday lunch, had found ourselves virtually back where we started.

With winter temperatures creeping in and the central heating turned on at home, I was hankering for comfort food; something filling, stodgy and warm was just what I needed. My husband, on the other hand, had his eye on a traditional Sunday lunch.

The Thorn had both . . . and then some.

There is nothing too finicky on the menu, which I am all for, but the chef had clearly put a bit of imagination into the dishes.

Starters include Scottish salmon and egg crostini (£4.65), crayfish and avocado salad (£4.45) and double baked cheese souffle (£4.45).

On the mains front, there is simply loads to choose from. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I have seen so many options on a menu that took my fancy.

Your traditional fare is there in abundance with various steak dishes, an Aberdeen Angus burger, bacon and eggs and outdoor reared pork sausages all fitting in nicely with today’s home- reared trend but there are also a number of risottos and a curry.

And, of course, there is a roast beef offering with all the usual trimmings.

To start, I could not resist the antipasti to share (£8.45). I absolutely love antipasti but away from Italian restaurants have rarely found good versions of the dish and was eager to see how it would measure up – luckily, my husband was happy to go along with the selection.

Hailing as I do, from Wigan, I tend to veer away from ever eating pies in public for fear of perpetuating the stereotype, but on this occasion I threw my reputation to the wind and ordered the Beef and Old Speckled Ale Pie (£8.65) as my main. Stuff the calories!

My husband, meanwhile, after all that talk of a roast dinner, decided instead to have the 10oz ribeye steak (£11.75).

The Thorn Inn is a cosy little place, one of those pubs where you feel as though you are genuinely in someone’s home rather than that the interior has been decorated by numbers by some corporate designer – a funny message here, an old plate there . . .

The inn stands next to Appleton Church and locals say that the inn, once known as the Saracens Head, was once a tollhouse. Now the name of the inn comes from a famous Thorn tree which was planted on the village in the 17th century.

According to local historians, the original hawthorn was planted by a Norman knight named Adam de Dutton, on his return from the Crusades, and the tree is an offshoot of the famous Glastonbury thorn.

Apparently in honour of the planting, there is an annual ceremony each June known as the bawming of the thorn and Appleton is the only village in the UK where such a ceremony takes place.

We were able to absorb this information as we waited for the meals to arrive and sipped our drinks – a massive Wolf Blass Chardonnay for me (£4.55) and a bottle of Peroni for him (£2.25).

The starter arrived in due time and first impressions were most impressive.

Slices of salami milano, prosciutto crudo and copa di parma were arranged artfully around a platter set off with mixed olives, rustica tomatoes and Italian hard cheese with a selection of breads and oils for dipping.

If first impressions were good, second impressions were amazing because the meats were delicious, really moist and tangy. The cheese had just enough bite in the flavour and the breads were warm and a perfect accompaniment. The antipasti was superb.

It was also not too filling and was easy on the carbs. So I was ready for what I anticipated to be a rather hefty main course.

And I was not wrong. My pie was about five inches across with a really thick and crunchy pastry, rather than the gooey kind you often get and it was accompanied with mash, baby carrots and broccoli with lashings of rich, dark gravy.

It tasted every bit as good as it looked. The pie was jam-packed with tender meat pieces and the mash was creamy and buttery. If there was any niggle, it was that the vegetables had spent a little long in the pan.

My husband’s ribeye was just as good. Veering away from his usual peppercorn sauce, he had opted for it topped with stilton and bacon, both of which went brilliantly with the tender steak cooked exactly as he likes it – medium rare. Again, there was the same vegetable accompaniment.

It took some time for both of us to get through the dishes, sizeable as they were, time enough for another beverage each. In the end, though, I was defeated by mine, abandoning a few last pieces of pastry on the plate.

Such generous helpings meant that puddings were absolutely out of the question.

Once the bill had been paid, I was ready to head home, but a quick peep showed they, too, adhered to the tradition for a nap. But then if Sunday afternoons are meant for driving, Sunday evenings are surely meant for snoozing.

emmajohnson@dailypost.co.uk

The Thorn Inn, Grappenhall Lane, Appleton, Cheshire

Tel: 01925 264362

Interior: Homely, traditional pub/restaurant.

Service: Friendly and swift.

Value: Excellent, could not be better.

Disabled access: Yes.

Children: Welcome.

Bill: £44.40.