Michelle Tompkins finds a great value deal, for your pocket if not for your waistline

The Dockle Farmhouse
2 Bridge End Rd, Swindon, Wiltshire SN3 4PD
Tel: 01793 838910
The Mexican Monday menu also served at The Sir Daniel Arms and The Groves Company Inn in Fleet Street, and The Savoy in Regent Street

ONE tip if you’re looking at these pictures and thinking of heading to your local Wetherspoons for their Mexican Monday deal: don’t take your reading glasses.

Just sit back, relax and enjoy the fiesta... in complete ignorance of the tiny small print on the menu which tells you how many calories are in every dish. Trust me, you really don’t want to know.

Mexican Mondays is the latest initiative from the budget restaurant chain, presumably designed to get people up off their sofas and into the pub on a traditionally quiet night. And at £6.99 for a giant plateful of hot and spicy food — with a pint or a glass of wine thrown in (yes, really) — there’s really no excuse not to.

We went to the Dockle Farmhouse at Greenbridge to try the menu, but there are three other Wetherspoons in town to take your pick from. I’ve only ever seen the Dockle at full to bursting – usually on a sunny Sunday afternoon – so it was a treat to find the place much quieter than usual and to bag a cosy spot in the bar.

There are three main options to choose from – a burrito (921 calories... gulp), nachos (1417 calories... double gulp) or a naked burrito (minus the wrap and therefore a much less eye-watering 414 calories). You then select one of five fillings or toppings – five-bean chilli, chilli con carne, BBQ pulled pork, shaved rib eye steak (£1 extra) or chicken breast strips, adding the extra calories, of course. There’s also the option of a quesadilla (1033 calories), a kind of fried tortilla sandwich filled with pulled pork and cheese.

All of this plus a soft drink is just £5.99. Choose an alcoholic drink, from a list of more than 30, and you pay £6.99.

For me, it was the quesadilla [kay-sa-dee-ah] all the way, and it came just how I like it, charred on the edges with the cheese still bubbling.

With Mexican rice, guacamole, salsa and sour cream on the side, it was a hearty plate of food with just the right level of chilli heat to spice things up.

My partner chose a burrito (stuffed tortilla) with pieces of rib-eye steak, and it was crammed with juicy, tender meat mixed with brown rice, cheese, bell peppers beans and salad.

A side helping of tortilla chips, guacamole, salsa, sour cream and chillies completed the colourful picture.

In our greed, we had also gone for a side order of mini nachos (£2.49) but frankly we really didn’t need them. I’d like to say that, at 709 calories, I left my partner to them but in truth they were so moreish I ate more than my fair share.

Any of the usual Wetherspoons desserts (salted caramel cheesecake, waffles, ice cream sundae) can be added to the deal for £2.25, but we admitted defeat and said adios to the staff.

Who says those dull Monday nights can’t be spicy after all?