Pub grub kicked up a notch at family-friendly Wolverhampton pub
You can go to fancy restaurants and gastropubs with Bentleys and BMWs in the car park, but sometimes, you just wanted nice, homely and simple.
There are plenty of pubs which have realised that a good food menu is the way to people's hearts, providing a place for friends to get together, couples to have a date meal or families to treat their little ones to a nice meal.
The Hollybush in Wolverhampton has always had a good food menu, but has stepped it up a notch after a recent refurbishment, with new dishes being added to the existing menu and a fine selection of desserts to end a meal and drinks to complement a meal.
I've been and eaten at the pub on the Penn Road on a few occasions, but this was my first trip inside since the refurbishment by owners Marstons, so it was like a brand new experience.
Just walking from the car park to the entrance, you can see changes with a new outside seating area with televisions showing the Sunderland vs Middlesbrough game (Sunderland fans - look away now).
On entrance, you can see that the pub has been set up to accommodate both eaters and drinkers, with doors separating the bar area from the restaurant, but with the whole area feeling roomier and comfortable. I know people who prefer a smoky, traditional pub and I like that as well, but this felt nice without being homogenised.
The selection at the bar was excellent, with usual fare such as Carling, John Smith's and Fosters sitting alongside newer favourites such as Estrella and Cruzcampo, which I like and decided to order a pint of before ordering my meal as it would be nice and refreshing.
You can get lost in the range of food on offer, with the chefs and cooks clearly getting very creative with the offerings in each part of the menu, which starts with the starters and sharers, then breaks off into different categories for mains.
These include burgers, pub classics such as fish and chips, lasagne and steak and ale pie, pizzas, grills and lighter options such as jacket potatoes, plus a top notch vegan selection in each category for those either bound by diet or simply fancying something different.
The starters menu brought with it a number of good choices, with chicken strips, cheddar bites and BBQ cauliflower wings all making my mouth water.
I went for the buttermilk chicken strips and popcorn chicken, with BBQ sauce drizzled on top and a nice amount of rocket lettuce to accompany it.
While not a big portion, it came in good time in a metal tub with about five pieces of crispy popcorn chicken and two sizeable pieces of chicken coating in breadcrumbs and with a liberal coating of BBQ sauce.
