The Royal Oak, Wolverhampton

You don't need me to tell you that times are tough. Very tough. Rumour has it that an armed robber walked into a branch of the Northern Rock the other week, and told the cashier he and the lads had held a whip-round for the staff. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is so worried his eyebrows have started going white.

Needless to say, as the recession bites, everybody is looking to cut back on how much they spend on food. Well almost everybody.

The recession does not seem to have reached Whitehall yet, with MPs still able to claim up to £400 a month in food allowances. One somewhat rotund member claimed £18,800 over a four-year period. Perhaps he should be writing this column.

But for those of us who do not belong to that select and highly-respected group, the Royal Oak in Tettenhall Wood is offering roast beef or pork lunches for £1.50. A credit lunch, you might say.

The Royal Oak dates back to 1847, when Sedgley brickmaker Edward Eggington acquired the plot of land to build three cottages. Eggington took advantage of the Duke of Wellington's 1830 Beerhouse Act, which allowed him to open up his front two rooms to sell liquor. I know all this because it says in a potted history hanging on the wall in a corridor at the back of the pub.

Known as the Spotted Cow until the 1920s, the pub gradually grew to include an underground brewery, which served as an air raid shelter during the war - although in recent years the pub has been better known for its colourful hanging baskets.

The pub has no parking of its own, but there is a free car park across the road, and blue badge holders should be allowed to park on the yellow lines right in front of the pub. The step to the entrance could prove difficult for wheelchair users, though.

As well as advertising the cut-price meals, a plastic banner outside promotes a school fete, and another declares the pub to be under new management. The sign over the door confirms the licensee is now Julie Stokes, replacing the long-serving Stan Gardner.

The interior feels more like an antiques shop than a pub. Be it the cast iron chandeliers from the ceiling, the welsh dresser decorated with china trinkets, or the pictures on the wall, it seems like the type of place that Dickens might have based his Old Curiosity Shop on. Two old-fashioned cream sofas add to the genteel, relaxed atmosphere.

The prices are pretty retro too. Put it this way, you would have to go back to the early 1970s to get a half-decent roast dinner for £1.50. The offer is on between 12pm and 3pm, Monday to Wednesday, but if you want to push the boat out a bit, there is sausage and chips for £1.99, or a rump steak for £4.50, and these lunches are available every day of the week.

Sadly, the beef was off the menu when I called on Monday, so I had to content myself with the roast pork dinner instead. I think the barman was a little taken aback by my request to pay by American Express, and said I would need to spend £5 if I wanted to flash the plastic. A shame really, it meant I missed out on 1.5p cash back. Every little helps in a recession.

I settled into a seat behind a large window, which offers a pleasant view over the good-sized garden.

Despite the cut-price lunches, it was remarkably quiet. An elderly man, addressed by staff as "Mr Reynolds", was already seated when I arrived, and a lady, probably in her late 40s, and a stocky, shaven-headed man relaxed in the bay window.

If the idea of the cheap lunches was to pack the pub out during quiet times, it did not appear to be working on this occasion.

There was no faulting the service, the staff all seeming friendly enough, and the food certainly arrived quickly. In truth it came a little too quickly, making me wonder how they had managed to prepare it in less than five minutes.

The meal, consisting of a slice of meat, a Yorkshire pudding, two roast potatoes as well as peas, carrots and cauliflower, was served on a small oval plate; not a huge meal, but then again, you are paying Life On Mars style prices.

The Yorkshire pudding was as good as you get anywhere, and the potatoes and veg were not at all bad. The meat was less impressive, having a slightly rubbery texture, but I suppose you cannot expect too much at this end of the market.

The total bill, including a pint of Banks's mild, came to £3.63. Now that's something you don't read very often. If only they had somewhere like that in Westminster.

The Royal Oak,

School Road,

Tettenhall Wood,

Wolverhampton

Phone: 01902 754396

Lunch menu

(12-3pm daily)

Sausage and chips £1.95

Sausage egg and chips £2.25

Bacon, egg and chips £2.25

Cod and chips £3.95

Rump steak £4.50

Three-cheese broccoli bake £3.99

Evening menu (6pm-9pm)

Sirloin steak £6.95

Rump steak £5.95

Scampi £5.95

Cod in batter £4.99

Lamb shank £5.95

Three-cheese pasta and broccoli bake £5.95