The Lakeside, Oldbury

It's only about eight inches tall, but this surely must be a record. The posters I could just about understand, even the special menu. But a Christmas tree? In the middle of October? Incredible.

You can't accuse the Table Table chain of being lax with the forward planning. If the festive celebration menu and the Christmas Day menu are not your bag, bookings are also being taken for the New Year's Eve buffet. And we're still weeks away from bonfire night. In fact we're still (just) on British Summer Time.

The Lakeside enjoys an elevated position at the side of the Black Country's busiest highway, towering above the carriageway in the same way that Powis Castle majestically looks down across Snowdonia. Well sort of.

Rubbing shoulders with a Little Chef, Kentucky Fried Chicken and a motorway island, this former Brewer's Fayre got the Table Table makeover a couple of years ago.

And boy did it need it. The revamp has worked wonders in ridding the Lakeside of the bleak, dark exterior and the cluttered, dated interior has been brought bang up to date with an airy, modern look.

There is a large car park, although it does seem to have been designed to make you walk as far as possible to the entrance. Still, it is reasonably level and, as you would expect in a modern pub, it has been designed with wheelchair access in mind.

The Lakeside is what an estate agent would describe as "deceptively spacious." It doesn't look much from the outside, but inside it's huge. Really, it seems to go on forever. Just when you think you have reached the end of the pub, an archway leads you to another section. By the time you reach the door at the far end, you are halfway to West Bromwich. There is quite an attractive raised decking area to the front, offering stunning views of... er, the dual carriageway. The lake? Apparently that's at the far end of the car park, behind a fence. "It's very popular with fishermen," I'm told.

The whole place is decorated very much in the corporate house style, but there are one or two individual touches.

The light stonework gives a sophisticate feel, and I quite like the way it is divided into several small alcoves, some of them partially screened by glass windows, meaning that family groups can almost have a room to themselves. The trendy wall heaters, with a live flame set behind a glass window, added a touch of style as well as warmth, and the minimalist shelves with modern ornamentation look the part, even if they are pretty much the same in every Table Table across the country. While it was by no means empty, I was slightly surprised it was not a little busier on a Friday night. There were probably somewhere in the region of 30 to 40 people tucking in, but it is such a big place it seemed far less. The atmosphere was quite relaxing though, and I would say it is one of the chain's more pleasant pubs.

We found quite a pleasant spot in a small raised alcove, sitting on a large semi-circular bench seat of throne-like proportions.

The diners were predominantly in large family groups dotted around the restaurant. A party of seven or eight people, aged around their 40s, were sharing a joke in the alcove directly opposite us, and there was a family gathering that spanned several generations in the far corner. Two young men were enjoying a drink the other side of the partition from us, while a bespectacled man dined alone opposite the bar. There was a choice of several lagers and two bitters, and regular readers will not be surprised to know that I opted for Black Sheep over Tetley. While real ales connoisseurs are often sceptical about pub chains, I must say it was a well-kept pint.

With a total of 62 options on the folding card menu, plus specials on a separate blackboard, there should be something for most tastes will vegetarians particularly well catered for. There is a choice of traditional pub favourites, with a few Mediterranean options adding a dash of continental flair. For somebody wanting something a little exotic, the star turn on the menu is the 6oz bison burger. Strange. I thought a "bison" was where Black Country people wash their 'onds.

I decided to go for the beef and Boddington's ale pudding. When I told Rachel, the charming young lady who served us, that I would not be wanting peas, she asked me if there was anything else I would like instead. It's hardly rocket science, but it is nice to be asked, and I took her up on the offer and asked for some carrots to go with my pudding and mash. I certainly got carrots. Piles of them, and a huge mound of mash.

The pudding was something a little different from the usual beef and ale pie, being coated in thick pastry and shaped like an upturned mug. The meat was hot and tender, and the pastry nice and crisp, although I would like to have tasted the ale more.

I tried, believe me I tried very hard, but I was unable to finish my main. My companion went for a chicken burger, and thought it was good value for £6.99, although she too was unable to finish the meal. Despite being fit to burst, I was determined to fulfil my responsibility by sampling a dessert. We shared the chocolate profiteroles which were enjoyable, and good value for £3.75.

The total bill came to £27.91, and you can't really knock that. Large pub chains rarely make for the most characterful of dining experiences, but the Lakeside is simple and smart, the food above average and service comes with a smile.

Christmas come early? Perhaps that would be overdoing it a bit, but there are plenty of worse ways to spend a Friday evening without breaking the bank.

Mind you, if you want to eat from the same menu as I did, you had better hurry. The Christmas menu comes in soon.

The Lakeside

Wolverhampton Road,

Oldbury

Phone: 0121 552 3031

STARTERS

Goats' cheese and herb

pastry parcels £4.75

Aromatic duck parcels

£4.50

Pan fried king prawns in

garlic butter £4.75

Prawn cocktail £3.99

MAINS

Chicken fajitas £7.99

7oz rump steak £10.49

8oz sirloin steak £12.49

Half a roasted chicken

and chips £7.99

Chicken makhani curry

£7.99

Pork, leek and bacon

sausages and mash £6.99

Bacon and cheese topped

chicken breast £8.99

Smoked haddock and

Welsh rarebit fishcake

£7.99

Mediterranean vegetable

lasagne £6.99

Spinach and ricotta

ravioli £6.99

DESSERTS

Vanilla cream pudding

with blueberry compote

£4.25

Tiramisu £4.25

Eton Mess £3.99

Belgian waffles £3.99