Get a meal that is bigger than you expect at town hall bar and restaurant

I've had plenty of meals where I've walked into the restaurant having smelt it walking down the street or just been intrigued by its look and sound (a Caribbean restaurant in Inverness stands out).

To this end, I decided to take a trip to Dudley town centre on a Thursday evening and try out Brooke's Bar and Bistro, which is owned and run by Dudley Council and can be found next to the Town Hall, acting as both a bar for show days and a restaurant in its own right.

I'd walked past it a few times when out in Dudley on work-related business or doing a review, but never thought about a meal there until now, so it was worth a look.

Walking up, the building is set in brick and stone and is a very historic building within Dudley, but you wouldn't guess it was a restaurant as apart from two signs outside the front entrance.

However, walk through the doors and you'll start to get the smells and senses of the restaurant walking through the stone walkway, adorned with poppy wreathes from remembrance ceremonies, and into the main building through the doors.

Inside, the layout is colourful and light, with a panelled wooden floor along the bar area and a seating area inside the bar, which had a wide range of beers, ciders and other drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, on offer.

There was an event happening at the Town Hall that evening, so the bar was very busy with people waiting to get a drink and, as a result, things were a little hectic as the staff worked to serve everyone and I wasn't seen at the front entrance for a couple of minutes.

Eventually, I was seen and taken to my seat, accepting apologies for any delay I had suffered with a smile, and settled down to take in the dining area, full of flowery wallpaper, varnished wood flooring and padded seating which was comfortable to sit on.

The place was busy for about 20 minutes as people looked to get drinks before the event started, but grew quieter and meant that more attention was paid by the staff to the diners like myself.

The woman who was serving me was friendly and very attentive, telling me about the menu and the specials on offer, and making sure my food got to me quickly, which was perhaps a little over-enthusiastic, but also showed she and the other staff actually had good customer services skills.

With my stomach rumbling and a nice smell coming from the kitchen, I took a look at the starters menu, which carried a good selection, including ham hock terrine, beef noodle salad and the old favourite, prawn cocktail.

I went for the chicken, which could come as wings or as tenders and with Texas BBQ, teriyaki or sweet chilli sauces, and I ordered chicken tenders with sweet chilli, partly because I like a bit of heat, but also because tenders provide more for your money.

This became apparent when my starter turned up and, to all intents and purposes, could have been a meal in its own right as it was massive, with seven very big pieces of chicken with a crispy and glistening batter on top, some greenery to add to the aesthetic and a big pot of sweet chilli sauce.

Taking my first bite, I found that the batter was crispy and melt-in-your-mouth, the chicken was soft and well seasoned and the greenery and the sweet chilli sauce adding very nice to the flavour of the meal.

Chewy, without being tough, the chicken tenders were very tasty, with my only small criticism, and it's a really small one, was the size of the starter as it was very big and if you combine that with a main and a dessert, you'll be very full. Trust me, that is a very minor criticism and very funny to me that I would complain about too much food.

Mains at Brooke's follow a similar pattern to a lot of places with main courses of fish and chips and lamb shanks, plus more unique items such as potato cakes and the chicken supreme, full of potatoes and parma ham, as well as grill items including the New York strip, a sirloin steak, and three types of burgers.

The sirloin steak could be added to, so I ordered that with peppercorn sauce, one of two sauces alongside blue cheese sauce, plus a side of tenderstem broccoli to add some more vegetables to the meal.

It turned out that I didn't need the broccoli as when the meal turned up, the steak was a nice size, cooked to medium as I like it, with a large portion of big and chunky chips, plus a big grilled mushroom and plenty of salad on the side and peppercorn sauce.

I got a big apology from the waitress for my broccoli not being there on time (I'll be honest, it didn't exactly ruin my night), then dug into the steak, which although not huge, was juicy and had a great texture, well seasoned and not tough or chewy.

The broccoli did add to it, large and very green stems with a seasoned taste, but I think I could have enjoyed the meal even without it.

All in all, a very nice meal and very filling for what I thought wasn't a big meal, but turned out to be very rich.

To compliment an excellent meal, I ordered the chocolate brownie with an orange sorbet on the side as I love a bit of chocolate and do love a brownie.

I'm happy to say it was excellent, warm and rich taste which melted in my mouth, with the sorbet providing a nice counterpoint to the brownie as it consistently cleansed my pallet and helped me enjoy the taste of the brownie.

Brooke's Bar and Bistro has a wide selection of food and the cooks do their best work to make sure the flavours are balanced and you leave having enjoyed a good meal, something I can vouch for as I struggled to stand up afterwards.

8/10

Sample Menu:

Starters

Ham Hock Terrine - £7

Brooke's Prawn Cocktail - £7.50

Wings/Tenders with sauce - £7

Main Course

Brooke's Fish and Chips - £14.50

Roasted Lamb Shank - £24

New York Strip - £24

American Stack Burger - £15

Side Orders

Beer battered Onion Rings - £4

Tenderstem Broccoli - £4

Chunky Chips - £4

Desserts

Eton Mess Cheesecake - £7

Sticky Toffee Pudding - £7

Warm Chocolate Brownie - £7

Brookes' Bar and Bistro, Priory Street, Dudley, DY1 1HA