“CAN I book a table for two please?” I asked the man on the phone.

“A table for three?”

“No, two.”

“Sorry, it’s a bit loud in here. Yes, can I take a phone number?” he asked.

I replied: “Zero, seven, seven, four...”

“Two?” he said.

We got there in the end. My table for two at The Brewers Arms in Wanborough on Thursday evening was confirmed.

I’m not sure if he actually got my phone number, but hearing so many people enjoying themselves in the background filled me with great expectations for the night ahead.

When Thursday evening arrived, it was a gloriously sunny day and my sister and I asked if we could make the most of it by sitting outside for dinner.

That was no problem at all and we were shown to a table for four (not two... or even three) in the decked area.

The menu is impressive – not your usual pub grub at all. Of course, many of the classics are on there, including steak, sausages and fish and chips, but they’re better versions than most. The sausages, for instance, are delicious-sounding Gloucester Old Spot sausages and the haddock fillet is in crispy 3Bs batter with homemade tartare sauce.

With so much mouth-watering food on offer, it took us a while to decide what we were having, but in the end I went for the roasted pork fillet with sage wrapped in pancetta (£13.95). It also came with a wild mushroom and pea veloute (sauce) with buttery mashed potato and spiced red cabbage.

My sister opted for the Cajun spiced salmon fillet with sweet potato fries (£12.95), which came with a Mexican bean, avocado and tomato salad and lime and coriander yoghurt dressing.

“If I was having two dinners, I would have that one too,” my sister said, pointing at the herb crusted loin of cod in seafood and cherry tomato linguine.

The menu warns that all the food at The Brewers is cooked fresh, so it may take longer than you are expecting, but after just 30 minutes, our meals were at our table.

The veloute was thick and creamy and tasted delicious, but perhaps wasn’t the best choice for a scorching hot summer’s day.

My dish would have been the perfect winter warmer, with thick slices of moist and tender pork, perfectly cooked cabbage and that rich sauce with mushrooms and peas.

It was very filling, so much so that I had to leave half of the buttery mashed potato. There would have been plenty for the biggest of appetites there.

My sister was delighted with her salmon too. The spices gave it a Mexican twist, and the sweet potato fries were crispy yet still fluffy on the inside, and full of flavour.

The salmon was fresh and flaky, and went perfectly with the Cajun spices.

It was a much better choice for the hot weather, and I’ll admit I had a bit of food envy after trying some.

They were good sized portions, and we certainly wouldn’t have been able to eat the herb crusted loin of cod too – good job we just ordered the one meal each.

We didn’t even have space for pudding, but I liked the look of the toffee waffle cheesecake (£5.25) or the raspberry and white chocolate brulee cheesecake (£5.95).

It turns out it was lucky we booked ahead, as when we went back inside to pay for our meals we spotted a sign saying they were only serving food to pre-booked tables as they were so busy.

The buzzing crowd I had heard on the phone the night before were back again, and they looked and sounded like they were having as much fun as I’d thought.

Our bill, which included a cranberry juice and a J20, came to £31.