WALKING in to the Hundred House Hotel is a little bit like stepping back in time. There's no doubt that this grand old hotel is looking dated, but with a long-standing reputation for good quality food, we were still looking forward to our Saturday evening out.

We had been warned, when we phoned to book our table, that there was a wedding on and so we would be eating in the bar. The menu appeared to be very similar to the restaurant's with a wide variety of choices and lots of specials on the board.

For starter I chose the Cajun seasoned chicken goujons with a sweet chilli sauce, priced £5.45 and my husband went for the home-made chicken liver pate, £5.15. Both dishes arrived promptly.

Mine consisted of four very large strips of grilled chicken, wrapped in a spicy batter on a plate of fresh salad.

The chicken was succulent and the batter crisp and very tasty. The dipping sauce was a perfect accompaniment to the dish.

My husband had a very generous portion of pate, served with a pile of toast, an accompanying brandy sauce and a fresh salad garnish. He said the smooth pate was flavoursome. We enjoyed both dishes, but as starters we found the portions to be far too large.

For our main courses I had opted for the grilled fillet of plaice filled with crayfish butter, priced £9.95.

My husband chose the duo of pork chops with black pudding and braised red cabbage, for £12.45.

Again the food arrived promptly and there was a lot of it!

The plaice almost filled my dinner plate and on the side I had a very large bowl of chips and a mountain of fresh salad. The plaice was light, fluffy and tasty but cooked in butter, so it was quite rich and a little greasy.

The accompanying chips had been deep fried until they were very well-cooked and crisp, but they were also very greasy. Meanwhile, my huge salad contained everything from lettuce, cucumber, celery and pepper to raw mushroom, grapes, apple and pear, most of which was fresh and very colourful.

My husband's meal was also enormous. A pile of pork chops was served alongside two huge wedges of black pudding and a pile of red cabbage. It came with a side dish of new potatoes and mixed vegetables, which were over-cooked for our liking. He said the chops were cooked well, but he found the amount of food very off-putting. Usually a fan of black pudding this serving wasn't to his taste and we both agreed the braised red cabbage was revolting. I suspect it had badly burnt in the pan.

For dessert, I chose an orange charlotte russe, priced £3.65 and my husband opted for chocolate ice cream, £1.95.

The ice cream was delicious - creamy, sweet and containing large chunks of real chocolate.

The russe consisted of a large slab of synthetic-tasting orange blancmange, topped with a strip of orange jelly containing juicy fresh mandarin pieces and soft, sponge fingers. It came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which again was very good.

Overall, we found our dining experience at the Hundred House Hotel disappointing.

The staff were friendly and helpful, but the decor is worn and outdated and I'm afraid the mountains of food we were served failed to impress even by today's very tough dining standards.