The New Talbot Inn, Brereton

The heart pounded. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end,

. "We had you down for 7 o'clock," said the young lady behind the bar.

This would not normally have been such a disaster, but it was out third attempt to get a table. And, having driven 26 miles to get here, I was not in the mood to turn back.

If there is one thing The Insider loves as much as a good meal, it is a story of success against the odds. So when regular reader Keith told me about a brilliant pub near his home which had come back from the brink, I knew I had to visit.

A year ago it was a very different story. The Grim Reaper stood at the metaphorical doorway, the proverbial wrecking ball was swinging and poised for action. If one building could sum up the times we live in, it would have been the old Talbot Inn.

Disused and run down, it made for a sorry sight. Just another casualty of the recession and the smoking ban, it stood forlorn on the corner of Brereton's Main Road and Armitage Lane, awaiting the near-inevitable redevelopment as a housing estate.

That was before Clive Greaves and David Trotman stepped in with a £180,000 revamp. And if the success of a place is the difficulty of getting a table, the New Talbot seems to be doing very well indeed.

With two unsuccessful attempts at getting a booking on a Friday night under my belt, I finally succeeded in getting a table on a Wednesday - only to be told I had been booked in for a different time. Even on a Wednesday, the place looked very busy, so it was too great relief that the lady told me that there would still be a place for us.

It doesn't look much from the outside. Built right on the pavement of the village's main thoroughfare, there is a good sized level car park to the rear, although it was still quite full. Provision for wheelchair users is excellent, with several disabled spaces close to the door and a thoughtfully designed ramp.

Climbing down a couple of steps into the main restaurant area, the first thing that strikes you is how thick the carpets are. They are deep, and I mean really deep. Put it this way, I probably lost half an inch in height as I waded through the luxurious pile.

The room is divided in two by an imposing stone chimney breast, and there is an interesting display of cigarette-card style football pictures, with local legend Stanley Matthews taking centre stage.

It was not quite full on the night of our visit, but it was not far off, I reckoned there were around 50 people tucking in which is pretty impressive for midweek, and I guess it would also be pretty packed on Mondays when it hosts its cut-price steak nights.

It seems to be popular with grown-up families; at the far end of the room there was a lively party of 12 appearing to span at least three generations, and the table next to us appeared to be occupied by a young couple and both sets of parents.

"Unfortunately, we do not sell fast food, we sell good food as fast as we can," is the slogan on the front of the smart black menus, which is not a bad maxim.

There are some quite interesting options, too. For example, the diced pork in a creamy pepper sauce with sliced mushrooms, onions and peppers sounds very tasty at just £8.25, and the chef has sought to bring a taste of the Black Country to Rugeley with the fillet of chicken served on black pudding, smothered in a rich mushroom sauce.

It was the four lamb chops on the specials board which proved too tempting to resist, though, coming with a special home-made gravy mint, while my dining partner went for cold cooked ham topped with two fried eggs.

And despite the warning on the front of the menu, the food did not take an undue amount of time to arrive.

I know I should have really had mash to go with it, but I have this condition which means I am unable to say no when offered chips. Besides, one of the great tests of an eating place is the way it fries its spuds; that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

And I'm pleased to tell you it passed the test with flying colours, although it did mean I had to eat most of a huge bowl that was meant for both of us before I could form a clear judgement. The thick, golden coating had a lovely, crispy flavour, and the lamb chops were tender and tasty, too.

If I had one criticism, it would be that the mint gravy could have done with a little more mint in it. My companion was raving over the ham, saying it was superb.

The meals were accompanied by a large bowl of steamed vegetables, although salad is available if preferred. There is not a bad wine list, and a choice of Banks's Bitter (but not mild) or Theakston's Liberation, as well as the ubiquitous offerings from the brewing giants.

As I tucked into the chocolate fudge cake I had chosen to finish with, I began to wonder what had happened to our coffees. Initially I thought they were simply waiting for me to finish my dessert, but long after I had put my spoon down, we were still waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

As customers began to filter out, and staff started preparing the tables for the next day, I began to wonder if the coffees would ever arrive. After a wait in excess of 20 minutes, I asked the lady who was clearing the tables if she had any idea about the whereabouts of our beverages, and they arrived within seconds, which did suggest we had probably been forgotten.

I know they're not into fast food, but even so, you don't expect the coffees to take as long as the main course.

The food had been excellent, but the wait for the coffee did tarnish the experience a little. At least it did until I asked for the bill. The two main courses, drinks, a dessert and the belated coffees came to £27.35 - half of what many places would charge.

At that price, all is forgiven.

ADDRESS

The New Talbot Inn, 187 Main Road, Brereton, Rugeley, Staffordshire WS15 1EE

Tel: 01889 575512