Restaurant Review: The White Horse, Churton

Sometimes gambles pay off, sometimes they don’t and the White Horse in Churton certainly falls into the first bracket.

Having decided it was too warm to be stuck indoors on a recent Sunday late afternoon, we headed out in search of somewhere to relax and unwind with a drink and a bite to eat.

Deciding where to visit proved more challenging as we tossed around suggestions for a few minutes before agreeing to head off in the direction of Farndon and see where we ended up.

First port of call was the Rake & Pikel in Huntington alas the place was packed out with not a free table in sight.

Never mind, onwards we travelled to our next stop the Grosvenor Arms in Aldford but it seemed half of Chester had the same idea as once again there was no room at the inn.

Undeterred we continued along the winding roads until we came upon the White Horse, somewhere none of our party four had ever patronised but feeling adventurous - and rather ravenous - we agreed to chance our arm.

The White Horse in Churton (Image: Google Earth)

Churton is a small and quiet village alongside the B5130, the blink and you’ll miss it kind for those driving in or out of Chester.

The same can probably be said of the White Horse. It’s a fine double-fronted building with ample parking, an inviting open fire in the bar, traditional interior with wooden beams and a spacious restaurant to the rear.

We entered through the main door straight into the bar, where a few locals supped pints and flicked through the newspapers.

The atmosphere was relaxed and welcoming as we headed towards the restaurant seating and the barman invited us to choose our preferred table.

There were no more than five or six tables occupied which seemed quiet but this would at least afford us the time to unwind and eat at our own pace.

Menus were brought to us promptly and the barman turned waited explained our options: the spring menu offered an excellent choice of dishes, there was a two or three course Sunday lunch available for £12.50 or £14.50, and a daily specials board.

It took us a good 10 minutes to make up our minds and about the same length of time, perhaps a little longer, for our starters to arrive.

Around the table we had smoky BBQ chicken wings, creamy garlic mushrooms on toasted ciabatta and a grazing platter to share contained maple glazed sausages, peri peri chicken wings, calamari, onion rings, deep fried pitta, houmous and garlic ciabatta.

Creamy garlic mushrooms on toasted ciabatta (£4.80)

The food was fresh, cooked close to perfection and delicious as the cleanliness of the plates testified. The sharing platter was substantial and packed with flavour: the little kick from the peri peri was right up my street.

Too often I find service can be over attentive but here we were left to enjoy our meals in our own time. A pleasant change and maybe something that comes from confidence in the kitchen.

There was a gap of about 15 minutes between our starters being cleared and our mains reaching the table. We were in no rush so this wasn’t an issue for us. I’ve always been of the view that good food is worth waiting for.

I had opted for the pie of the day - pork and leek - for my main, my partner settled on a gammon steak served with both egg and pineapple while the parents went for lasagne and a roast beef dinner.

The pie was substantial, filled to the brim with seasoned pork and soft leeks in a shortcrust casing and served with chips, braised red cabbage, greens and a jug of gravy.

Beef roast dinner (£12.50 for two courses or £14.50 for three courses)

The gammon was thick and juicy, the lasagne overflowing with meat bathed in a rich tomato sauce and the tender beef roast came with all of the trimmings including a proper Yorkshire pudding.

Portions are generous and the food is delicious. You could spend less in one of the many chain pub restaurants around Chester but you get an awful lot more for a little extra money here.

We debated whether or not we had room for dessert and in truth we didn’t but we decided to go for it anyway because the choices proved too inviting for our feeble resistance.

Belgian waffle with butterscotch sauce and ice cream (£4.20)

This time our selection included an Eton mess sundae packed with summer berries and smothered in cream, a classic sticky toffee pudding covered in custard and two Belgian waffles drizzled in butterscotch sauce and served with ice cream.

It was a genuine struggle to finish our sweets after such hearty and filling meals but preserver we did and gamely fought on to the end.

At this point we were waving the white flag and ready to surrender to the impending food coma, politely declining coffee and instead settling our bill and heading back home.

We were in universal agreement that it had been one of our most enjoyable meals for quite some time and we will be back as the gamble had most definitely been landed.