Horns of Boningale

The Horns is at least 300 years old and was a regular stop-off for cattle drovers taking their charges along the old Holyhead road. In recent years it has had its ups and downs but new management has recently (2004) ensured a return to the good days and an air of relaxed enjoyment now pervades. The panelling and warm decor in the restaurant make for discreet comfort in which matters of business or more social inclination can equally prosper.

The menu aims to hit a spot somewhere between brasserie and gastropub. The food is not fancy, but freshness, attractive content and comfortable portions prevail. For starters expect to find around ten choices, plus specials, to include avocado, Parma ham and prawns with a sour cream and chives sauce, venison pate and an imaginative range of home-made soups.

Main courses, excluding the excellent range of steaks, number around sixteen - choose from a half shoulder of lamb, fillet steak medallions wrapped in smoky bacon and served with a hollandaise sauce, a delicious home-made steak and kidney pie, or a potato and red cabbage layer cake with Madeira sauce. Vegetarians are particularly well looked after.

A sensible, both in content and pricing, wine list offers a range of choice that will bring a mellow contentment to the occasion. It is encouraging to see what used to be decent pubs that suffered from the decline caused by the breathalyser, having new life injected into them by proper management able to drive a safe line between profitability and customer satisfaction.