The Inn, Stonehall Common, Nr Kempsey

From the Worcester News, Friday 23rd January 2009

One very happy chef is a big bonus for pub

CHEFS like Dwight Clayton don’t come along very often, but when they do they make the difference between a restaurant with good food and one with excellent cuisine.

Our waiter’s comment that “chef’s happy in his kitchen” was confirmed by the superb quality of the meals Mr Clayton was preparing – meals to be savoured, cooked by a talented, instinctive chef with an obvious love of his craft.

Unhappy chefs produce poor meals. That’s not the case at the Inn at Stonehall, near Kempsey, where excellent meals are created by an expert who knows how to balance flavours and textures.

My main course of corn-fed chicken breast, dauphinoise potatoes, butternut squash puree and Madeira cream proved a fine example. Said by a waitress to be her favourite, it was a mouthwatering masterpiece worth every penny of the £14.50 price. It followed a very tasty £5.75 starter of steamed mussels, perfectly complemented by pieces of sweet cured bacon.

Starters range from home-made bread and olives at a mere £2.50 through curried cauliflower and cheddar soup (£4.50) to shredded duck leg with soy and orange sauce at £6.25.

Main courses start at £11.50 for sweet potato and parsnip tarte tatin with baby leaf salad, with a 10oz rump steak, watercress and blue cheese salad, red onion confit and hand-cut chips priced at £15.50.

My companion was bowled over by her starter of smoked trout paté with horseradish cream, declaring the paté, delicately flavoured with dill, to be the best she had ever tasted. She followed it with panfried sea bream, sautéed spinach and fish nage (£14.50). Creamy bream cooked to perfection and, as with every other dish served at Stonehall, a delight to behold, let alone taste.

Assured that the pecan nut tart with crème Anglaise and maple syrup ice-cream (£5) was not oversweet she tried it and was full of praise for ‘‘its wonderful flavour and generous helping of nuts’’. I took the selection of local farm cheeses, biscuits and quince at £6.95.

Two large glasses of Chilean chardonnay at £4.80 each, plus a coffee and a Tia Maria floater coffee brought the bill to just over £73. A bargain.

In addition to its fine chef, the Inn at Stonehall is also fortunate to have friendly and efficient staff waiting on tables. Add an attractive restaurant, comfortable seating and a roaring log fire and you have the perfect combination for an enjoyable night out.

by JOHN ABBS

The Inn at Stonehall,
Stonehall Common,
Kempsey, near Worcester.
Telephone: 01905 820462
Food ★★★★★
Value for money ★★★★★
Ambience ★★★★✩
Service ★★★★★