Like many a pub restaurant, you have to place your order at the bar and from either the "specials board" or the menu card. The choice not huge, but all of it sounded very appetising. I started with a Greek salad, which was well presented with a variety of lettuce and dressed with red and green peppers and cucumber. A lacy arrangement of cress finished the dish off. The olives were extremely tasty and perfectly complimented with feta cheese – the only negative being that they had been a little heavy-handed with the olive oil. My wife opted for the cod pancetta fishcakes with a chilli dip. This is a robust starter, and the two fish cakes were well prepared, amazingly tasty, and served with a small salad. I tried a mouthful with a good dip of the chilli sauce – wow, that had a kick and the satisfaction of a nicely balanced hot accompaniment.

We sat in what appeared to be a converted barn with large rustic cartwheeled chandeliers dancing light across the fascinating array of village memorabilia and between the open rafters straddling the width of the room. Hung on the wall were cattle hay feeders and displays of animal horns, horse bridles, horseshoes, a variety of horse brasses, and a range of rural artwork. A fine stone fireplace has pride of place at the end of the restaurant, and the view across the pub’s open courtyard to a large green field is a constant reminder of this pub’s setting. Try to ignore the occasional traffic rumble as large lorries thunder along the adjacent main road.

For my main course, I went with a deep-fried fish platter accompanied by a large portion of chips. Amongst the deep-fried was a battered salmon – never had salmon deep-fried before, and it made for an interesting taste. There were loads of different fishes on the platter and plenty of them. This was a formidable meal with lashings of what tasted like a homemade tartar sauce.

There was a reasonable atmosphere in this rural pub and traditional dining chairs with comfortable cushions and loads of table space made it a pleasurable experience. It’s worth noting that the last serving is at 9pm, and although you can enjoy the same meal in the bar area, it does get busy, so booking a restaurant table is highly recommended.

The food here is far better than you’d imagine – a few up from village pub fare. It’s not too far out of Salisbury, and with easy parking, I’d recommend it to you.