TUCKED away down a quiet residential lane, you could easily miss The Red Lion, writes JAMES ROBERTS.

The entrance looks like someone’s front door and I was almost scared to enter in case I interrupted a family dinner.

But this is part of the pub’s charm.

The low ceilings, while ever so slightly claustrophobic, made for a lovely setting on a late summer’s evening.

While more of a burger and pint man myself, I was intrigued by the range of options on the menu, including duck, scallops and rabbit.

We jumped right into the main course - I opted for the steamed steak, kidney and ox cheek pudding with horseradish mash (£14.95), while my brother picked the rabbit saddle, creamed cabbage and bacon, with truffle oil (£16.95).

During a short wait for our food we finished most of the tap water we had asked for, and I was a little disappointed we were not offered a refill at any point in the evening.

This was quickly forgotten as the food came, with the beautifully cooked steak enclosed in the pastry and complimented perfectly by a thick sauce.

There is nothing quite like meat that literally falls apart as you dig into it and I could not finish it quickly enough.

The mash was lovely too and although there was not quite enough sauce for my liking, I could not fault anything else – I am getting hungry thinking about it now.

My brother was similarly content with his main and was particularly pleased with the substantial serving.

The rabbit, creamed cabbage and bacon combined very well, he said, and, despite the ever so slightly undercooked vegetables, was certainly value for money.

It would have been rude not to eat pudding and I chose the custard tart with poached rhubarb (£5.95).

This was very fairly priced for a reasonably sized slice of tart and the flavours made me eat it much quicker than I probably should.

There was a big dollop of cream on the plate too, however, which I think the pudding could have done without.

Unsurprisingly for him, my brother had the caramelised orange and chocolate fudge cheesecake with honeycomb (£6.95).

Served in a jar, this can only be described as a demolition job, which says everything about the quality of the dessert.

We left feeling full but very pleased with our pickings – I would certainly venture outside my culinary comfort zone to visit again.

The Red Lion, Chapel Lane, Blewbury, OX11 9PQ, telephone 01235 850403 or visit theredlionpubandkitchen.co.uk