By Tim Beard

Living up in north-east Leicestershire, I’m fortunate to be blessed with a veritable cornucopia of village pubs in attractive settings.

As economic times have hardened, many have had to adopt and adapt, replacing old world “pub grub” with bistro-style “dining” in an effort to attract more custom.

So what do you do to make yourself stand out from the crowd as more and more join this move towards this combination of contemporary interiors and “posh nosh”?

Well, The Windmill at Redmile, in the Vale of Belvoir, is effectively offering starters and sweets for £1 a piece – yes £1. If that doesn’t tempt you and your wallet, nothing will.

From Tuesday to Friday evenings and Tuesday to Saturday lunchtimes, it offers one course for £8, two for £9 and three for £10.

After sitting in the low-beamed lounge bar among the increasingly popular leather settees and tub chairs, we were a little concerned at the time it took to be presented with menus and take our orders when it didn’t seem all that busy for a Thursday night.

But once we had been taken through to the dining room, we realised that not only were there around half a dozen tables where people were eating, but also another room from where a steady stream of earlier diners were coming, exchanging complimentary comments about their meal.

Sufficiently reassured, we didn’t have long to wait for our starters.

I chose a ham hock and Stilton terrine which proved to be nicely balanced, particularly when the tasty chutney was added.

My wife, Diane, opted for asparagus in butter with parmesan cheese shavings, which she described as “a touch of summer that did not disappoint”. I think she’s after my job.

Deciding to push the envelope and go for the rather more expensive grill menu for my main course, I chose a 10oz fillet steak, cooked medium.

At £21.50, the kitchen was certainly putting its reputation on the line, but it was beautifully cooked, leaving the steak moist and juicy with just the right amount of pink at its heart.

Huge battered onion rings, mushrooms, a seasoned and grilled tomato plus a sizeable bowl of chips (slightly greasy but acceptable) completed the dish.

Diane chose the whole sea bass which came with new potatoes and vegetables. Despite the delicate operation of dismantling it to remove bones, she pronounced it to be splendid.

After a suitable interval, we moved on to the all-important puddings.

We adopted the usual ritual of Diane choosing her pudding then choosing mine too so that she can experience both. This time it was her favourite – chocolate brownie – plus marmalade-topped bread and butter pudding.

The brownie was served in a glass with ice cream and was tasty and slightly chewy (7 out of 10) while the B&BP was soft, creamy and melt in the mouth with a sweet marmalade tang (10 out of 10).

With a couple of earlier drinks from the bar and a Latté each back in the lounge bar to finish, the bill came to a shade over £50.

There’s also a snack menu and the option of the three courses for £14.95 on a Saturday night, as well as Sunday lunches.

Info

The Windmill, Main Street, Redmile

Phone 01949 842 281

Rating: 4/5