The Langton Arms

Good food, excellent service and a free pudding, what more could you ask for? Joan Stephens and friends enjoy a visit to the Langton Arms.
Festive was the only word for the packed dining room at The Langton Arms over Christmas. "Looks like we shall be in for a long wait,'' muttered the pessimist in our party (there's always one, isn't there?).

He was wrong. Despite a full bar and dining room, and carol singers to entertain, our drinks order was taken within minutes of arrival, and six people took so long to decide what they wanted to eat, that our waitress was poised with her pad before we were ready. So top marks already for service.
We hadn't cottoned on to the benefits of a Tuesday booking until a sharp-eyed friend (female) gleefully pointed out that Tuesday is Ladies' Day – we'd get a free pud if we ordered a main course. So we did – more of which later.
There was a set-price Christmas menu, a standard one and specials on a blackboard – the latter included turkey, boeuf bourguignon, lamb shank, fillet of sea bass and pheasant with bacon and asparagus, all with interesting accompaniments.
Main menu starters included two soups of the day, Brixworth pate, tempura chicken, prawn twisters, deep fried goat's cheese with raspberry coulis and, interestingly, Hoi Sin crispy duck.

The friend who chose that loved it, but would have liked more than its four very small pancakes. The rest of us chose the prawn twisters – diced prawns in crispy filo pastry, and very good.
Mains were a mix of standard pub fare such as steak and ale pie, fish and chips and bangers and mash, but also seafood linguine and butterflied Thai-style chicken breast.
Between us we sampled the shoulder of lamb at £12.95 ("very good"), the roast turkey at £10.95 ("a generous portion and very tasty"), the linguine at £11.95 ("you can taste every shellfish ingredient separately''), and the sea bream at £16.95 ("good crispy skin, but could have been hotter'').
I chose the vegetarian dish of the day, a sun-dried tomato and feta cheesecake with saute potatoes and a tomato and basil sauce (£9.95). It was tasty, more tart than cheesecake, and definitely needed the full-flavoured sauce.
As desserts, all three men chose Christmas pud, greedily requesting "lashings of brandy sauce'', which duly arrived to be scoffed with satisfied smirks. For our freebie desserts, two of us opted for raspberry roulade, which, alas, had all gone, much to the disappointment of my gluten-intolerant friend.
When she explained her problem, the waitress offered to go and see what the chef could rustle up – which turned out to be a colourful and delicious fruit salad with a meringue – again, full marks for service and willingness to please.
The Langton Arms' wine list has half a dozen or so each of reds (from £13.95 to £24.95), and whites (from £13.95 to £19.95), plus there are lagers and draught beers.
The bill for six worked out at £22 a head for food, and a bar bill of £42, which we reckoned a fair price for a convivial evening with good food and super-efficient and friendly service.
Info
The Langton Arms, Main Street, Church Langton, LE16 7SY. Phone: 01858 545181