The Lodge Restaurant at The Blakelands, Halfpenny Green

Personal service in this family-run business sets the establishment apart from the rest,

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Rolling up at a great country house, it is not so much about when you arrive, but how.

Dignity is everything. Being seen without making a scene. Merely "turning up" - what a vulgar expression - is just not an option. You need arrive with a quiet assurance. An understated confidence that tells everybody you are familiar with the situation and at ease with you surroundings.

Which was why I felt a bit of a clarnet when I ambled straight into the Blakelands' dining room through a patio door, a slightly surprised waitress having to redirect me to the bar and reception area at the other end of the corridor.

If buildings could talk, this place could tell a tale or two. Beginning life as a cottage in the mid 16th century, it was extended in 1720 to become the grand Queen Anne mansion it is today. Over the centuries it has been owned by a lawyer and clergyman, a farmer, a doctor, a dentist and a maltster.

This year marks a bit of a double anniversary for its present owners, the Morgan family. Not only is it 30 years since the family moved into the house, it is also 25 years since the first seeds of today's Blakelands were sown, when Doreen Morgan started selling cream teas and holding flower demonstrations.

Today, The Blakelands is one of the area's best-known venues to mark those special occasions, having marked its 1,000th wedding reception in 2006. Set in eight acres, the estate now includes a 15-room guest house, a banqueting hall in the old maltings, and a giant course-fishing lake.

The Lodge Restaurant is set in its own spacious grounds, the long gravel driveway sweeping past the neatly-tended gardens and attractive lily pond to the decent-sized level car park at the back. There are some delightful outside seating areas which are perfect for relaxing with a glass of cool wine on those wonderful, if all too infrequent, balmy summer evenings.

The Blakelands is still home to the Morgan family, and when we eventually made our way to the reception bar, we were greeted by the cheery Heather Morgan, who is in charge of the restaurant.

Sinking into one of the large, plushly upholstered armchairs to peruse the menu is certainly a pleasant way to start the evening.

It is hard to find fault with the wine list, which has a choice of 42 different varieties, ranging from the £3.30-a-glass Piesporter to the £49-a-bottle Veuve Cliquot Yellow Label NV champagne.

There is also a house champagne at £9.50 a glass, but with a vineyard practically next door, it would have been rude not to have tried some of the local produce. Black Country Gold is a name you rarely see on restaurant wine lists, but Bobbington's Halfpenny Green Vineyard is long respected in the English wine trade, having picked up many awards in its 28-year history. According to the tasting notes, it has "luscious fruits leaping from the glass".

I'm not sure I want to see anything leaping out my glass, fruits or otherwise, but I was pleasantly surprised by how good this lively, zesty wine was, disproving my scepticism about whether the South Staffordshire climate really is conducive to growing great grapes. Another reason for my doubts was the description of it being "on the sweet side of medium", but there was none of the sickly, sugary taste that you get with the likes of Liebfraumilch. My only real criticism was that at £5.85 for a 175ml glass, it was a little on the pricey side.

If white wine is not your thing, Halfpenny Green red and rose wines are also on the list.

The food menu is superb, not only offering a good choice of meat, fish and vegetarian dishes, but also going the extra mile to provide something that is a bit special.

For example, you do not just get any old duck, but the renowned Gressingham Duck, specially bred in East Anglia by crossing the wild mallard with the Pekin to produce a bird with more succulent, flavoursome meat, and approximately 20 per cent more breast meat. Likewise, if you want cod and chips it is baked in parchment, and split open in front of you at the table.

But for me, the peppered steak in the chef's "famous creamy cracked pepper sauce" sounded too good to miss, while my companion went for the chicken forestiere.

The Lodge is wheelchair friendly, although it is quite a distance between the bar and the dining area. The room itself is beautifully decorated and furnished, having an easy elegance that combines modern comforts with an understated period style. The large open plan room gives a bright, airy feel, helped in no small part by recessed lighting and the large patio doors. The exposed brickwork to the one wall at the end gives just the right amount of rustic charm, and the intricately carved wooden framed mirror and paintings on the wall are a classy touch.

The restaurant was around half full, and it is little surprise that they were a pretty stylish crowd. There was the smartly dressed young couple, who appeared to be celebrating a wedding anniversary on the table next to us, the elderly lady talking about her exotic travel plans to a group of friend on the table a few yards away. Immediately behind us were two ladies, possibly a mother and daughter, who sounded to have some pretty colourful tales to tell.

The food came in pretty reasonable time, and it was very good indeed. The steak was a neat, tender cut, folded into a stack, and was tender while still having a good meaty flavour. The chef's speciality sauce was of the hot and spicy variety, and unlike some other places I have been recently, it was served in generous quantities.

We were given a large bowl of fresh vegetables and some gorgeous hand-cut and thrice-cooked chips. My companion had nothing but praise for the chicken forestiere, and it is worth noting that the vegetables were all beautifully cooked, with carrots that were crisp and juicy - a welcome change from the bullet-hard ones that some places find it necessary to serve.

An enjoyable meal was rounded off perfectly by the butterscotch and honeycomb ice cream sundae - it normally includes chocolate ice cream too, but I had opted out. At £5.50 it was quite expensive for a glass of ice cream, but it was very good, with the golden honeycomb pieces making for something a little special. My dining companion went for the Cambridge burnt cream, essentially a creme brulee served with thin almond wafer-type biscuits.

Coming to a prestigious venue such as The Blakelands is never going to be a cut-price affair, but I think the total bill of £58.65 is good value considering the quality of food, the surroundings and the service.

The thing that really sets is apart is that the personal service; the fact that the Blakelands is still the Morgan family home, and it is almost as if they have put on a special dinner part for you.

And you leave feeling like the guest of honour - not somebody who has shambled in through the wrong door.

ADDRESS

The Lodge Restaurant at The Blakelands, Six Ashes Road, Halfpenny Green, Bobbington DY7 5DP

Tel: 01384 221000

Web: www.blakelands.co.uk

MENU SAMPLE

STARTERS

Grilled camembert, toasted bread and cool quince jelly £6; Pork, apple and calvados pate, melba toast and lodge salad £6.75; Grilled Worcester asparagus, fresh fennel and pernod cream dressing £5.50

MAINS

Gressingham duck breast, classic Cointreau and orange sauce £16.50; Atlantic salmon fillet, dry wine, creme fraiche, peas and chives £14.75; Thai marinade red snapper fillet, spring onions, chilli and soy sauce £16.75; Mushroom, stilton and walnut pot pie, puff pastry hat £12.75; Stilton sirloin of beef, topped with vintage stilton cream and grilled black pudding £19.75

DESSERTS

Rocky road baked chocolate cheesecake with Madagascan vanilla ice cream £6.50; Bread and butter pudding with hot vanilla custard £5.50; Cheese platter with farmhouse chutney and crackers £6.50