On a dark and stormy night, GILL HARRIS and a friend head out to the countryside in search of sustenance

IT was a dark, wet night when a pal and I headed off to Wanborough for a cosy pub meal and a long overdue catch-up.

So dark, in fact it was the kind of night you expect to take a wrong turn and end up at a ghoulish mansion just as you get a flat tyre, while dramatically scary music ramps up in the background.

So it was a relief to scamper through the rainy, puddle-dappled car park and into the cosy warmth of the New Calley Arms to hear, rather appropriately, Gene Kelly belting out Singin’ In The Rain.

We hadn’t booked and our inquiry as to whether they were serving food (it was pretty quiet when we arrived so we had a sudden pang of doubt) was greeted with a cheery yes — grab yourselves a pew, we’ll find you a menu and some cutlery. It was lovely and informal and felt as if we’d just popped round to a mate’s mum’s house for our tea.

As the night wore on, several couples turned up for dinner à deux, regulars sat at the bar putting the world to rights and a few men picked up the darts for a friendly game.

And everyone rubbed along nicely, this small, traditional interior somehow affording simultaneously enough space and intimacy for everyone to do their thing without encroaching on anyone else’s thing.

And right about now, our thing was definitely some warming food to chase away the winter blues.

Drinks in hand, we settled down at our corner table to peruse the menu.

The classics were all present and correct — battered cod, home-cooked gammon, sirloin steak, steak and ale pie, lamb shank... There was also a specials board with various dishes of the day.

Unusually, I came to a decision in seconds — it was a fish pie kind of night.

My pal was similarly taken with the ham hock hash, so, orders placed, we settled down to distract ourselves from our hunger with juicy titbits of gossip.

Before long, our plates, piled high and steaming gloriously, arrived.

My friend’s ham hock hash (£9.50), with garden peas and baby potatoes topped off with a free range poached egg looked and smelled heavenly.

Meanwhile, my fish pie (£9.50) — sold on the menu as ‘homemade fantastic fish pie’ — was just that. It was jaw-droppingly fantastic, and let’s face it, fish pie isn’t the easiest dish to make attractive — it just looks like a dish of mash but this was beautifully golden on top, scattered with herbs and accompanied by glossy vegetables.

Even more jaw-dropping was the size of it.

There is no way it was a single person portion — and I proved it by taking home a doggy bag and having the rest of it for lunch the following day. And it was just as delicious and filling the second time around.

The mash was fluffy and creamy, with a beautifully cheesy crunch to the top, the sauce was flavoursome and the pieces of fish were plump, tender and plentiful.

My friend went pretty quiet once the mains arrived, but when I grilled her afterwards, she said: “The ham hock hash was everything you could ask for in a comforting winter dish, but without the stodginess.

“The meat was tender, the peas were sweet, the tomatoes were juicy and the chunks of new potato were deliciously nutty.

“The whole dish had a beautiful freshness about it and was seasoned to perfection.”

So I think she liked it.

We rather shamefully had filled ourselves to the brim with our mains so there was no room for dessert, but again, the usual suspects were listed, the likes of crumble and sticky toffee pudding, those perfect, traditional winter warmers.

The New Calley Arms is a rare breed of pub: it has steered a clear path between trendy gastropub and proper local boozer.

It still actually looks like a pub for a start — you’ll find no polished pine floors or Ikea finishings or faux antiques here.

It’s also run by proper, professional pub staff. There’s no bowing and scraping and all that fancy restauranty frippery — just a warm, friendly, down-to-earth welcome.

It also hasn’t fallen into that trap of gastropub foodiness — the portions aren’t tiny or prettified to the nth degree or served on half a ton of slate.

This is honest to goodness, no-nonsense food, bursting with freshness and flavour and guaranteed to fill you up.

In short, it’s homecooking but done far, far better. Fantastic.

The New Calley Arms

2 Ham Road, Wanborough

01793 790615

Find it on Facebook: newcalleyarms.co.uk

Parking: Yes, plenty

Disabled access: Yes

Adver ratings:

Food: 10/10

Choice: 9/10

Decor: 9/10

Customer service: 9/10

Main course prices: £9-£15

TripAdvisor rating: 4.5/5