Wall Heath Tavern, Wall Heath

After some not so good years, this pub is back with a successful recipe,

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It has to be said, as terrorist masterminds go, the Gunpowder Plotters weren't the sharpest tools in the box. While they failed to blow up the House of Lords with their gunpowder, they did manage to cause a fatal explosion 100 miles away in the Black Country. They blew themselves up.

That's right. Having retreated to Holbeche House, a mansion belonging to their accessory Stephen Littleton, it dawned on them that their gunpowder had got a bit soggy on their trek from the capital. So they did what any bungling terrorist would think appropriate – and tried to dry it out in front of the fire.

I suppose it was probably a more dignified end than that met by the plotters who didn't manage to escape, who were subjected to torture before their executions. And it did at least provide the village of Wall Heath, about five miles from Dudley, with a unique place in British history.

Not only that, but the restaurant at Holbeche House received a five-star rating from Dudley Council food inspectors for its "excellent standards of food safety and hygiene."

The perfect place for an Insider review you might think – an excellent standard of food in historic surroundings. What more could you want?

Unfortunately, Holbeche House is now a care home for the elderly, so while I don't doubt that the food there is of a very high standard, it might be a few years yet before I get the chance to sample it.

Never mind, just a few hundred yards around the corner is the latest addition to the village's culinary scene, the recently opened Wall Heath Tavern. I say new, well it's not new, new. There have been various pubs and restaurants here over the years, including a Mexican restaurant, but I'm glad to say its new owner has gone for a more traditional approach, a combination of fine real ales and locally-sourced food.

To the left of the old whitewashed cottage-style building is a large level car park, yet there weren't many spaces to spare when we rolled up.

The building is divided into two areas, a fairly snug bar, with a door leading to the larger restaurant area. The style is simple, clean and bright, traditional yet modern. Plain, off-white walls and ceilings, the only adornments being a mirror and the vases containing attractive yellow silk flowers.

I like the bright, stripy seat backs and the simple tables had a reassuringly solid feel, although it was disappointing that a member of staff had to wedge a beermat underneath the table next to us to stop it rocking about.

One big attraction is the choice of beers. On the night of our visit there was a choice of six different Enville Ales, those superb beers produced five miles up the road using home-made honey. If that's not enough Purity Mad Goose was the guest ale on the night of our visit, and Mad O'Rourke's Lumphammer is also a regular.

When I asked for a menu I was surprised to be told I would have to look at the blackboard on the wall, the other side of the alcove.

"We need to get some more printed," explained the waitress, meaning I had to go and stand behind a couple tucking into their meal to look at what the options were.

I was even more surprised, a short while later, to see the couple on the table next to us sitting with a printed menu in front of them.

That said, the staff deserve real praise for the attention to detail, and the choice of locally-sourced, home-cooked food. Take for example, the fish fingers. Normally, if you choose fish fingers, the only question is which frozen-food wholesaler they have been supplied by. But here they are home-made fish fingers, lovingly battered in Enville Ale. That's what you call class.

I was sorely tempted by the local sausages and mustard mash, but decided to go for the minted rump of lamb in a rosemary and red wine jus. My decision to combine it with chips might raise one or two eyebrows – surely lamb should be accompanied by mash?

Nine times out of 10 I would agree with you, but this time there was method in the madness. I'm a real sucker for battered chips, and the prospect of chips that had been battered in Enville Ale was just too tempting to resist. Trust me, you would have done the same.

The helpful and hard-working young waitress explained that the lamb was served pink, "unless you would like it done a bit more," to which I said I would.

The waitress had explained that the lamb would take a while to cook, but it actually seemed to come in pretty reasonable time. You certainly can't accuse them of skimping with the portion sizes, they were huge, which makes the prices – my lamb was £8.95 – seem all the more remarkable.

The lamb was excellent quality, although it had been cooked slightly more than I would have liked – I guess I have to accept some responsibility for that, I should have made my preferences clearer when ordering. But the rosemary and red wine jus gave it a really fresh flavour, and those chips were gorgeous almost beyond words. Big, chunky and hand cut, with a huge, crispy battered coating, they are so more-ish.

My companion had chosen the Enville battered fish, which was also superb, if a little too huge for her to manage.

For afters, I decided to go for the ice cream sundae, but a few minutes after I placed my order, the waitress returned to tell me there was no ice cream left. Having already enjoyed quite a hearty meal, I wasn't too bothered about a dessert anyway, and there wasn't really anything else that I felt like, so I finished off with a coffee.

The total bill was just £19.67. This was partly, of course, down to the fact that we had no desserts, and checking afterwards, it appears there had been no charge for the coffee either. Was it an oversight, or a free gift? I don't know, but I'm not complaining.

The thing is even if you allow for this, and break the bill down into its components, it is still excellent value. There were a few rough edges, certainly, the lack of menus or ice cream being the chief bugbears, but hopefully these are just teething troubles that will quickly be ironed out.

But the food we sampled was excellent, and there aren't many places where you can get home-cooked, locally-sourced main courses for £6.95 and £8.95 respectively, and that's before you consider the superb beers.

It's worth a return for the battered chips alone.

After a shaky few years, The Wall Heath Tavern is back with a bang.

ADDRESS

Wall Heath Tavern, 14 High Street, Wall Heath, near Dudley DY6 0HB

Tel: 01384 287319

MENU SAMPLE

STARTERS

Salmon and sweet chilli fishcake £3.95; Bacon and black pudding stack £3.95

MAINS

Local susage, mustard mash and onion gravy £6.95; Salmon steak £7.95; Cajun spiced chicken £7.95; Sirloin steak £10.05; Lamb's liver £6.95

DESSERTS

Strawberries and cream £3.50; Cheese and biscuits £4.50; Chocolate and orange cake £3.50