The Cock and Magpies Harvester, Smethwick

I don't know about you but when I go out to eat I like to have a bit of a blow out,

. Indulge if you like.

Take a night off from my diet of the day and live a little, three courses, few glasses of wine, maybe even a liqueur coffee.

And what I don't want to know, under any circumstances, is what all this food is going to do to my diet. I'll worry about that later.

So imagine how I felt on my recent visit to the Harvester in Smethwick.

The family favourite sits on Hagley Road West, and the roadside location is brightened up with some nice greenery and bushes, while the ample car park tucks you away and then once inside there are no complaints either.

The decor is smart and simple, with a colour palette of greens and cream, wooden beams and exposed brickwork, while framed pictures of flowers adorn the walls.

An old spit roast takes pride of place in an enclosure in one of the walls while the salad "cart" sits in front of the open grill area where you can see the chefs at work.

While a soundtrack which includes Scissor Sisters, Madonna and Luther Vandross hums in the background with the music at just the right volume that you can hear it, but it doesn't intrude on your conversation, everything is going well up to now don't you think?

There are a variety of customers, from the group of after-work drinkers enjoying a bite to eat and a glass of white wine, a group of students quietly sipping their pints while they eat at a corner table, the young doe-eyed couple holding hands over a glass of red wine, the boyfriend trying to win his girlfriend a toy in the "grabber" machine and various families with young children, enjoying the benefits of the refillable soft drinks and ice machines.

Taking a look over the wine list I'm impressed with its fair size. There's a choice of four different bottled white, rose or reds as well as a couple of sparkling options.

There is also the option for draught wine – yes that's wine on tap, like a beer. It comes in five separate measures, from a small 175ml glass to a whopping one litre which turns out cheaper than most of the bottled 750ml measure bottles.

I wasn't drinking, as I was driving, but my pick would have probably been the Lindemans Sauvignon Blanc, which has a citrus flavour and is £4.75 for a large glass.

There are also a variety of draught and bottled beer options.

So it was all going well.

And then I opened my menu.

Nothing obviously different at first glance and it smacks of everything you would expect from a Harvester, a selection of starters, grills and of course, the salad cart.

It has also been set out in an easy to order layout and the premise is simple: choose your grill, add a sauce on the side and a salad and it's as simple as that.

Then I noticed the calorie counter.

The fast food restaurants now do this, and my thinking is, if you don't want to eat a 1,000 calorie burger, have a salad instead and stop moaning about it. Otherwise, just enjoy.

However here, next to every main, side and sauce, was the amount of calories.

And all of a sudden I started to worry that I wouldn't actually order what I wanted any more, but what I thought I should order.

But then I got over it, I was hungry after all, and I was eating out, so it was OK.

Looking through the prices are pretty reasonable. The steak options are slightly more expensive, with a 7oz fillet coming in at £15.99, although an 8oz rump will set you back £9.89, however, when you remember you get the sauce, side and a salad included in that price, it begins to feel far more reasonable.

Children's menus at £3.99, £4.49 or £6.49 are also available.

I must admit I pored over the menu for a good while, sipping my refillable lemonade, and wondering what to go for. Steak? Chicken and ribs? The Combine Harvester – a platter of spit roast chicken, chicken breast strips, chicken wings, sausages, corn on the cob. To be honest I could have eaten anything on the menu, with the smell of the spit roast wafting through the air.

But in the end we decided to go for the Plantation Platter, a "combo" of flame-rilled chicken wings, barbecue glazed ribs, half a spit-roasted chicken, battered prawns, corn on the cob, and oddly, considering there was no gammon on the platter, four grilled pineapple rings. At £19.99 for two people, the platter comes with a sour cream and chive dip, two sauces and two sides. Bargain.

So all ordered and off to the salad cart we went, careful not to make the fatal mistake of filling up on pasta and potato salad and bread, before the mains arrived.

And although the bowls do seem smaller than in the past, you can go up as many times as you like.

The cart was made up of traditional salad items, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, coleslaw, as well as peppers, croutons, pasta and potato salad, beetroot, pineapple and more. With my bowl filled high, and a brown bread roll in hand, I chose to leave the dressing, although there was a choice of blue cheese, mayonnaise, honey and mustard, and a "red devil" - a sweet and ever so slightly spicy sauce.

Of course I ate it all before my main arrived, but there were no complaints from myself or my companion, and bonus is it is an alternative to ordering, and paying for, a starter.

Within around 10 minutes our mains had arrived, and of course, as you would expect from a Harvester, it was all good stuff.

The chicken wings were crisp and tasty, while the ribs were succulent and had a rich smoky barbecue glaze.

The roast chicken was not too dry, and again, had the familiar grilled spit roast flavour, while the corn, pineapple and chips were tasty and cooked well. A side order of beer battered onion rings was £1.99. They were crisp and delicious and also went down well.

So who's for dessert? And that was the problem.

Having filled up on salad cart and combo, I started to get the guilts.

The average sundae is around the 600 calorie mark and the Lemon Blizzard, layers of meringue, lemon sauce, ice cream, fluffy cream and a wafer is a stonking 780 calories. Yikes. I was loosening my belt just at the thought.

To be fair, the Knickerbocker Glory Sundae is just 350 calories, and fruit skewers a mere 200, however after a main course of 920 calories, two sauces worth 170 calories, fries worth 380 calories and a portion of 320 calorie onion rings, it was fair to say my recommended daily allowance was off the scale.

My companion felt the same.

So we ordered the bill and took our calorie-filled bellies to the car and off home.

The food did the trick and didn't make too much of a dent in our wallets, at a total of £26.37 for two people. But while I think listing the calories the dishes contain is a good idea for those who want to know, I wished we'd had the option not to find out.

It put me off ordering a dessert. I just hope it doesn't have the same effect on other people.

But other than that, job well done Harvester, I'm sure I'll see you again soon.

ADDRESS

The Cock and Magpies Harvester, Hagley Road West, Smethwick B67 5BD

Tel: 0121 429 1082

Web: www.harvester.co.uk/find-a-harvester/thecockandmagpiessmethwick.html

MENU SAMPLE

STARTERS

Tomato and basil soup £3.29; Salmon and sweet potato fishcakes £4.29; Prawn cocktail £3.49

MAINS

Full rack of ribs £9.99; Harvester premium burger £7.99; Grilled sea bass fillets £10.99

DESSERTS

Knickerbocker glory sundae £3.99; Profiteroles £3.69; Light chocolate and raspberry torte £3.99