The Old House at Home, Pelsall

Our

is astonished to find a snowman on display at this Walsall pub as the last days of summer play out.

I was just walking back from the bar when I did a double take. Did I see what I thought I saw? Yes, I really did.

A snowman. Surrounded by a piece of purple tinsel. And it's still technically summer. Talk of Christmas come early.

Then again, I was a little taken aback by the architecture of this building. Not in the sense that it is bad, not in the sense that it is brilliant. But in the sense that it is, well, quite modern.

Surely the clue is in the name. You would expect The Old House at Home to be, well, an old house that is quite homely? Perhaps it would be an exaggeration to call it the New House at Home, as it has clearly been there for some years. But it is certainly not an Old House. Perhaps it should be called The Fairly Modern House at Home.

But then again, that is a touch tautologous (now there's a word you don't see in many food columns). Surely every house is "at home", at least for the people who live there? And it is a pub, not a normal family dwelling.

So really it should be called The Fairly Modern Public House. I sometimes think I'm wasted in this job.

Actually, you can disregard all of the above because it turns out the name is nothing to do with the fabric of the building, but derives from a 19th century American song which was quite popular with homesick troops during the First World War.

And put like that, it actually seems quite a fitting name as, from the outside, the pub, which basically looks like a dormer bungalow enclosed by a low picket fence and with a bit of shrubbery growing around the gables, does have a touch of the small-town America in its appearance.

The aforementioned fence surrounds an attractive garden area at the front, and there are some pretty floral displays which must take some looking after given the lousy summer we've had.

The large, level car park is well laid out, and wheelchair access is no problem at all, although on the night of our visit the handrail next to the ramp was hanging off at the end.

The pub is next to Pelsall's Little Common, which these days is more of a village green, separated from the larger Pelsall Common by the central shopping area.

There is a small bar room, with a large-screen television and slot machines at the back of the pub, a larger lounge with button-backed bench seats at the front, and then a spacious, airy conservatory-type room at the far end, and it was here that we decided to dine.

The Old House At Home is part of the Marston's Taverns chain, and the vibrant colours, oblong tables and corporate-issue ladder back chairs will be familiar to many.

One area where it scores over many of the Marston's Taverns I have been to is that it serves food until 9pm – which I think is the least you should expect in this day and age – and all the staff seemed to be friendly and welcoming.

The conservatory is quite a pleasant place to be, overlooking the pub gardens, with quite a relaxed, homely atmosphere, and the pub seems to be very popular with young, studenty types.

This may have been down to the fact that Thursday night is quiz night, and believe me, some of the questions were very hard indeed.

"I'll be surprised if anyone gets this one," boomed the quiz mistress in a rich Midland accent. I can't remember what the question was, but I certainly didn't know the answer.

The pub had a good choice of ales from the Marston's stable, including the usual Banks's bitter and mild, but I didn't need much persuading to sample Sunbeam, a special edition summer beer named after Wolverhampton's famous car works. A light, bright tipple with a fruity flavour, I would definitely choose it again, but that might not be possible for a while – sadly its run came to an end this week.

The menu is common to all Marston's Taverns, and consists largely of simple pub food at competitive prices.

There was a small selection of "two for £8" main courses, and I quite fancied the sausage and mash, but the appeal wore off when the lady behind the bar said it would still be £8 if we only wanted one course from that menu. That seems a bit short-sighted to me; surely they could have done it for £5 or £6, and still made a healthy profit?

Thursday night is Steak Night, with a series of special offers, but I had steak last week, so I thought I should try something different. I quite liked the sound of the beef in red wine, thyme and pancetta gravy, but was not sure about the silverskin onions and mushrooms, so in the end I played it safe and went for the steak and ale pie.

It was a pleasant change to see a pie with shortcrust pastry, which seems to be increasingly rare these days, most pubs seem to prefer the fluffy puff stuff. There was plenty of succulent chunky meat beneath the thick crisp lid, and combine with the rich ale gravy it made for an enjoyable pie.

The chips appeared to have come out of packet, but at least they were nicely cooked with a crispy, golden-brown coating, and the peas were warm and fresh-tasting.

My dining companion had the golden scampi "light bite", which was still a reasonable portion, and excellent value for just £3.85.

Like last week, the sauces were served in a bowl of sachets, but I guess that is what you expect at the budget end of the market. At least the pepper, salt and vinegar came in proper dispensers, unlike the much more expensive place featured last week.

To finish, we shared a chocolate fudge cake with ice cream, which was enjoyable and good value, if a touch run of the mill.

The total bill was £20.25, which I thought was very good value for two mains, one dessert, a pint of beer, a glass of wine, coffee and hot chocolate.

We're not talking Michelin stars here, but it was a pleasant relaxing meal for a very competitive price.

Still not sure about that snowman, though.

ADDRESS

The Old House at Home, Norton Road, Pelsall, Walsall WS3 4NT

Tel: 01922 682011

Web: www.oldhouseathomepub.co.uk

MENU SAMPLE

STARTERS

Golden breaded mushrooms £3.10; Prawn cocktail £3.10; Seafood combo - four tempura prawns, six wholetails of scampi, six onion rings and garlic bread, served with tartare sauce and Thai sweet chilli dip £6.95

MAINS

Fish supper - battered fish and wholetails of scampi with chips, mushy peas, side salad and tartare sauce £9.45; 8oz sirloin steak with tomato, chips and peas £7.85; Pork steak with apple and bourbon barbecue sauce, with new potatoes, peas and carrots £6.45; Aubergine, tomato and mozzarella bake £4.95; Vegetable tagine – sweet potato and chickpeas in a Moroccan-spiced sauce with onions, sultanas and apricots £5.25

DESSERTS

Plum crumble £2.55; Apple pie £2.55; Chocolate pecan pie £2.55