I had driven past The Peterborough Arms at Dauntsey Lock on numerous occasions to and from Chippenham and always wanted to try it.

The menu is on a large board in the bar and changes monthly. After ordering at the bar the barmaid led us through to the eating area where a couple of tables were occupied.

The eating area has a farmhouse kitchen feel to it with dressers, pine tables, flagstones. The white walls are decorated with plates and prints.

There was a tempting choice of starter. I liked the sound of the chicken, pork and herb pate but was swayed by the hot coriander mushrooms. They arrived in a sauce with a salad garnish. The large toasted roll arrived unbuttered which meant it was dry but the mushrooms tasted great.

Keith plumped for whitebait which came with a nice salad, mayonnaise and two slices of bread and was almost a meal in itself.

I think we chose the two most expensive dishes on the menu for our main course.

Keith chose the mixed grill which comprised pork, lamb chop, steak, two sausages, Portobello mushroom and fried egg. A portion of chips arrived in a bowl as did peas.

This kept the peas hot and fresh and keeping the chips separate stopped the plate being cluttered. All the meat was cooked beautifully.

I chose the 6oz fillet steak which was on top of a Portobello mushroom. The salad I ordered with it looked so fresh I thought it had just been picked from the garden.

On top of my steak was a gorgeously cooked free range poached egg.

My meal was good, the only disappointment for both of us were that the chips were overdone.

The service throughout matched the excellent presentation of the food.

We were very impressed by the waitress's ability to recite the desserts to save us walking to look at the menu board.

The bill, including two pints of 6X and a half of cider, came to £46.65.

FACT FILE

Dauntsey Lock, Chippenham SN15 4HD

  • Car park
  • Spacious garden
  • Open noon to 3pm and 6pm to 11pm, Monday to Sunday
  • Vegetarian options
  • Disabled access

    (01249) 890409