The Manor Arms, Abberley (From Worcester News)

The Manor Arms, Abberley

11:05am Friday 24th April 2009 in Search By Jack Blanchard

WE set out for a meal in Abberley, in the Teme Valley, on what feels like the first day of summer and the setting is absolutely perfect.

With the blossom bursting from the trees and the April sun casting the hills in a beautiful light, spirits are high as we cruise along winding lanes and through magnificent countryside into the village.

For me, the Manor Arms is all about location, standing old and grand across the road from an ancient Norman church in the heart of the pictureperfect English setting.

Inside, we find the place all hustle and bustle, as welcoming as you’d hope a village pub might be on a sunny Saturday evening.

We take the only free table and peruse the menu chalked up on the blackbard – the choice is not extensive and covers broadly traditional pub grub dishes, but offers a few interesting twists which push our meals some way above the average pub fare.

My companion’s asparagus starter (£4.25), for example, is served with lemon butter – a simple touch but one that left us both muttering that we really ought to do that at home some day.

My prawn cocktail (£4.50) is absolutely huge and served with big chunks of apple dotted in among the fresh salad, transforming a cheesy 70s special into something a bit more exciting.

On to the main courses, and we’re scrapping over who gets to order the beer-battered cod and chips (£8.95) – the dish for which the Manor Arms has gained an impressive reputation in these parts.

Eventually I relent, and my companion is full of praise for the vast, delicatelybattered cod and generous chunky chips – a real success.

Fortunately for me, my meal is just as good – lamb, peach and cranberry pie (£8.25), while not really very pie-like (more a plate of a delicious stew with a piece of puff-pastry perched on top) is really tasty and much more interesting than so many defrosted steak-and-ale pies you get at pubs elsewhere.

The pudding menu is really impressive, and the chocolate truffle (£4.20) is a real treat, like a huge slice of rum truffle on a biscuity base with farmhouse ice cream on the side.

The Manor Arms is a great village local in a breathtakingly beautiful part of the world – head over on a sunny afternoon and make the most of it.