The Cat Inn, Enville

This week our undercover meal reviewer The Insider visits a pub with an unusual history.

Let's start with a Trivial Pursuit question. Which was the only pub in England to be banned from opening on a Sunday by a 300-year-old covenant?

Okay, you've probably guessed from the pictures, and indeed the name and address above, that the answer to the question is the Cat Inn at Enville.

And the question is itself a little outdated, given that the covenant itself was lifted in 2004, and the pub now opens from 12pm to 5.30pm every Sunday.

Nevertheless, there can't be many pubs which feature as questions in popular board games, and there can't be many food writers who review them. So eat your hearts out Giles Coren and A A Gill - The Insider's got one over you.

Legend has it the ban was imposed after the lady of the manor witnessed boozy farmworkers, er, how shall I put this, relieving themselves in the street after a good session on the ales.

I can't imagine that being a problem today, but it's a great tale, and it is a rich history like this that sets pubs like The Cat apart from the run-of-the-mill.

Inside The Cat you are in no doubt you are in a very special building, the gnarled beams and primitive plasterwork show you are in a very old building indeed. The blue velour seating is attractive and comfortable, and the walls are adorned with watercolours relating to fox-hunting, another local tradition dating back to the 18th century.

There is a separate restaurant in an outbuilding up some steps, but I was told that was all booked up on the night of our visit, so instead we ate in the lounge.

There is a superb choice of local ales, including Hobson's Mild from Cleobury Mortimer and the excellent Wye Valley Hereford Pale Ale. But I wasn't going to come here without sampling a pint of Enville Ale, was I?

The Enville brewery, about a mile across the woods from the pub, has built up a fine reputation since 1993, with beers featuring home-made honey being its trademark. While The Cat has no formal connection to Enville Ales, the pub has inevitably become the unofficial tap house for this wonderful small brewery. And if you have not tried Enville Ale or Enville White before, I suggest that is something you should remedy pretty quickly.

The menu offers a decent selection of home-cooked pub favourites. The sirloin with green pepper sauce looks good value at £10.45, but I think I would probably have gone for one of the speciality sausage and mash dinners had I not had the same thing last week. In the end I plumped for what I think was the next best thing, The Cat's special steak and Enville ale pie.

The pie, which came within around 20 minutes, showed how good pies can be if you put the effort in. A hearty meal, made up with big, tender chunks of beef and a rich, full-bodied ale gravy, it was topped off with superb home-made puff pastry. It came with good-sized helpings of vegetables, but I was a little disappointed that the chips were machine cut.

Regular readers will know this is something of a hobby horse of mine, but while I can understand that the big, high turnover restaurant chains might not have time to individually cut potatoes for hundreds of customers, I would have thought that a small, intimate pub with a unique history would want to go the extra mile to offer the personal touch. That said, they were tasty enough.

My dining companion said she enjoyed the beer battered cod, chips and peas, which was nicely cooked

"You can't still want a pudding after a pie," joked the friendly man behind the bar, who I believe was probably licensee Guy Ayres. He had a point, both meals were extremely filling, but I wanted to get the full experience so I went for the peppermint and chocolate ice cream, which was pleasant and good value for £3.95.

In fact, you have to say, it all represented good value. The total bill was £27.10, very reasonable for proper home-cooked food, and all the young members of staff were very friendly.

But . . . and I have to say it's quite a big but . . . the evening was marred by the very cold room temperature in the lounge on the night of our visit.

The other side of the bar, in the aptly named snug, there was a lovely big roaring fire, but there was no prospect of getting a seat in there.

Where we were sat, at the back of the lounge, we could smell the fire, but could not feel it. The gentle aroma from the charcoal wafted over as if to taunt us. We first tried sitting by the front window, and then moved to the other end of the lounge, but it made no difference.

There was an empty room at the front, which may have been better, but we didn't particularly fancy spending the evening alone; and having already sat in two different places, we didn't really want to move again.

I suppose that's the price you pay for eating out in such an old pub, and there is probably not a lot that can be done. You can't install uPVC double glazing or a storm porch somewhere like this without destroying the character of the building, but all the same, it was pretty uncomfortable.

I have been here on several occasions in the past, and I still maintain that this is a lovely old pub, brimming with character and a great choice of local ales. I would have no qualms about returning on a milder evening - it was below freezing outside on the night of our visit - or booking in advance to make sure I was in a warmer part of the pub.

As I settled the bill, my eye was drawn to the flyers for a holiday home in Cyprus left on the bar, portraying idyllic images of gorgeous sunshine. Talk about rubbing it in.

ADDRESS

The Cat Inn, Bridgnorth Road, Enville DY7 5HA

Phone: 01384 872209

Website: www.thecatinn.talktalk.net

MENU SAMPLE

STARTERS

Tomato and basil soup £3.95; Home-made chicken liver, brandy and red onion pate with toast £4.95; Flat mushrooms in a garlic, white wine and cream sauce £4.95

MAIN COURSES

Shoulder of lamb braised in madeira and rosemary gravy £10.95; 8oz sirloin steak with a creamy green peppercorn sauce £10.45; Pork belly, slow baked in barbecue sauce £8; Vegetarian cottage pie £7.50; Four-cheese tortellini with a creamy wild mushroom sauce £7.50

DESSERTS

Tipsy cherry trifle £4.25; Warm chocolate brownie with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream £4.25; Bread-and-butter pudding with malt-whisky-soaked sultanas £4.25; Banoffee crumble £4.25; Treacle sponge £4.25