Red Post Inn & Tourist Park

Now and daytime cafe, and much improved

Just enjoyed a very tasty lunch at the Red Post Inn. Most people think this traditional coaching inn will only be open in the evenings as a pub, and that isn’t the case at all. The current owners took over in autumn 2011 and are gradually redeveloping the Inn as an open-all-day coffee shop / café / restaurant, with a fish-n-chip takeaway, and a lovely garden area, away from the main road. The Inn now opens from 9am most days (closed Tuesdays), serving hot food, coffees, cream teas, Sunday lunches and so on. It’s not a swanky bistro, and doesn’t pretend to be. There’s no denying that the décor and furnishings inside the pub were outdated two decades ago, but it’s worth looking past this superficial appearance. We were warmly welcomed and the service was excellent. We had two types of pie (steak/ale, and chicken/ham), and both were delicious. Unlike many cafés where you get a puff-pastry topping over a bowl of casserole, these were slices of ‘proper’ pie with a hearty, chewy pie crust and tasty, flavoursome fillings made of plenty of lean meat – no fatty gobbets of anything unpleasant! We were also awkward and asked for specific vegetables and to have a jacket potato instead of chips – which was all no problem. The potato was well prepared and tasty (not half-baked / half-frozen and floury, as some can be). The menu isn’t extensive but covers all the usual café options; garlic bread, paninis, baked potato, pies, pasty, all-day breakfasts, cream teas, chocolate fudge cake, ice creams, as well as cappuccino and latte-style coffees, or fish and chips. The food style is ‘mainstream Brit’ rather than ‘continental chic’ – so we were offered ‘gravy’ to go with our pies, not ‘jus’, and there’s nothing wrong with that! Lunch for two came to £26 for three courses and several coffees. Maybe not somewhere you’d go for a special celebration, but a perfect place to grab lunch if friends drop by or you don’t fancy cooking. 7/10

By Hooligween at 15:10 on 25/04/12