The Bluebrick, Wolverhampton

Let's hear it for tables. That's the rallying call greeting the Insider at this week's chosen spot, The Bluebrick in Wolverhampton.

Now I must admit that I do rather admire the oak beauty in the centre of my dining room, but at the Bluebrick, mention the word "table" and you expect the staff to fall to their knees and worship.

Tables, apparently, are the be-all-and-end-all of life at this relatively new venue. So revered, in fact, that bosses have made it their mantra.

After a year or so in operation, The Bluebrick has just had bit of an image overhaul, and now it's almost a shrine to our four-legged friend.

If you don't believe me, here's a snippet from the "table table" story, which is proudly emablazoned on the walls and menus.

"Big or small, round or square. Life wouldn't be quite the same without them," it ponders. "Tables set the scene," it pants.

I can just imagine the buzz of excitement in the "brainstorming" meeting when this table stuff was floated.

Strange? Yes. Meaningful? Absolutely not. Gimmicky? Insanely.

Frankly, this strange new aspect of The Bluebrick is totally superfluous. It just gets in the way, in a not dissimilar way that it's completely got in the way of this review, so let's move on.

With a greeting like that, I have to admit I was slightly apprehensive about what other gimmicks my experience at The Bluebrick might bring.

But with words of a couple readers in mind, I decided to stick with it. According to Emily Love, "there is aways lovely food and wonderful service, and clean tables". While Bob Johnson told us: "I have been several times and the steaks there are the best in town."

Having launched in June 2007, The Bluebrick was the first business, along with the Premier Inn, to open on the site of Wolverhampton's historic Low Level Station. Developers behind the £35 million leisure complex said other businesses would soon follow, but that optimism came well before the credit crunch. Now we are told the building of flats has slowed down somewhat and the restored station building, which was meant to house a casino and health club, is up for sale, a leading leisure firm having pulled out of the deal. The result is that The Bluebrick is smack bang in the middle of a building site, with little scope for change over the next few months. But despite this setback, when I visited, it was teeming with people from all walks of life sat around those acclaimed tables.

There's few places where groups of jovial football fans quash pints alongside pensioners quietly chomping on a two-for-one deal, but that's the scene that met us. Next to us sat two groups of gossiping work pals, while in the next room a family of five enjoyed a meal out. I caught a glimpse of the children's menu and it's huge with portions starting at just 75p.

The place still has a shiny new-ness about it all, although the decor is instantly forgettable and like that of many chain pub-restaurants - a mix of browns and wood with walls full of bland modern prints in frames.

A nice feature is that there a lots of nooks and crannies to sit in, while huge windows let in lots of light during the day.

Onto the food. Now I've got to be honest - the menu didn't excite me at first glance. Fish and chips, sausage and mash and steaks - it was a list of generic pub grub and at first nothing sprang out at me. My companion said that when it first opened the menu was a bit more exotic, but it appears that all the ingenuity of the recent revamp went into the branding rather than the grub.

I chose the drunken duck pate (£3.99) which came with bramley apple jelly. The strong sweet and savoury flavour fused wonderfully and the portion size was good. This was followed up with lamb shank (£9.99), which came with tomato and garlic broth and creamy mashed potato. The meat melted off the bone and then in my mouth - it was divine.

My companion devoured huge crispy battered prawns (£4.50) that were accompanied with barbecue sauce, before demolishing chicken breast smothered in bacon and cheese (£8.99), described as "flavoursome and more-ish".

Our packed plates left empty, but we still had room for profiteroles ("nice but not enough chocolate") and a mouth-watering caramel apple crumble. As designated driver I only drank orange juice, but will definitely return to sample some of the wide range of wines and ales.

The staff were an absolute delight. Polite, attentive - at one point we were greeted by three in the space of five minutes - and very efficient.

And the tables?

Well if nothing else they were all full by the time we got up to leave at 8pm. Maybe that brainstorming session caught on to something after all.

The Bluebrick

Sun Street,

Wolverhampton

Phone: 0870 8506376

Starters

Crispy Duck Parcels with soy & ginger dipping sauce £4.25

Garlic & Herb breaded mushrooms served with garlic mayonnaise and barbecue sauce £3.75

Chicken Goujons with a smoky chilli barbecue sauce £3.99

Mains

Slow Cooked Leg of Duck in a Bramley apple & cider sauce served on a bed of spinach & roast potatoes £9.99

Liver & Bacon Casserole served with grilled streaky bacon & mash £7.99

Chicken Makhani Curry served with basmati rice & naan bread £7.99

Dessert

Black Forest Gateaux £3.99

Clotted Cream Cheesecake £3.75

Belgian Waffles £3.99