The Springhill, Penn

They say that first impressions count - and that's something the staff at The Springhill certainly recognise.

As you walk through the doors of this pub one of the first sights that greets you is an open window into the kitchen where you can see and smell some of the dishes being prepared.

Take a look around and you will find a rustic pub that appears to pride itself on the food it offers, given the amount of menu boards situated around the place.

And, although The Springhill is renowned for its fish, my friend and I were pleased to find there was still a fair amount of choice. The main menu sticks to some fairly traditional choices such as beef and beer pie and ham and eggs but the lengthy specials board is a little more adventurous with fillet of veal and Shetland organic cod. Fish fans could also easily be tempted by a 16oz plaice.

We found ourselves a bit restricted if we didn't want fish for a starter but I settled on one of the specials - grilled haloumi dressed with chilli and served mixed leaves, while my dining partner picked pepper stilton mushrooms. They arrived quickly, were well-presented and tasty. The mushrooms had plenty of sauce and there was quite a lot of dressing on my salad which was nice.

When it came to the main courses my friend decided to see whether all the plaudits he had heard about the fish were true and went for the traditional fish and chips. I decided on the vegetable tagletelle with pesto, pine nuts and chargrilled vegetables served with garlic bread.

The fish and chips certainly had a traditional feel - the chips were wrapped in paper to give it that old fashioned look and came with a giant piece of battered fish. The chips were a cut above the average pub offering and the fish tasted really fresh.

Meanwhile my plate of pasta was piled high with tempting looking grilled vegetables and garlic bread.

And it tasted as good as it looked, with just the right amount of pesto and plenty of vegetables meaning it wasn't too heavy.

Although the desserts included fresh fruit cheesecake and banoffee pie, the size of the main courses meant we will have to save them for a return trip, which we will definitely be making.

Helen Cartwright

Warstones Road,

Penn, Wolverhampton

Tel: 01902 342530