IF you find yourself stopping at the Holt Fleet besides the river Severn at Holt Fleet, near Worcester, then I’ll guarantee you won’t go home hungry.

On a soggy Sunday – and with my mum stuck at work – I decided to play the ‘good son’ card and took my dad out for lunch.

We arrived – not having booked – to find the place looking as full as its diners’ plates.

However, a kindly barman found us a table in the restaurant and handed us the carvery menu from which we ordered three courses for £17.95 and a couple of drinks (£6.75).

My curried button mushrooms served in a bread bowl and my dad’s homemade fishcakes with sweet chilli dressing on a bed of mixed leaves arrived quickly.

The mushrooms were excellent and the mild curry sauce got my tastebuds dancing. The bread bowl – best described as a large Yorkshire pudding – caused some consternation, but it definitely worked as a bowl.

My dad soon polished off his two tasty fishcakes and lapped up the sweet chilli dressing.

Moving onto the carvery we had a choice of four meats. I opted for slices of beef and lamb while dad skipped on the pork and went for a turkey-lamb combo.

We were given a Yorkshire pudding each before serving ourselves to a selection of vegetables – cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, peas, sweetcorn, roast and new potatoes – as well as the deliciously thick and tasty gravy.

Wading through our overfilled plates we acknowledged the tastiness of the meats even if they were not as lean as we would have liked. My dad noted that some of the vegetables could have been warmer but that fact did not spoil our experience.

Somewhat remarkably we had enough room for dessert. In keeping with the Holt Fleet’s ambience and service the trolley was wheeled over to our table laden with seven different choices of desserts.

I plumped for fruits of the forest cheescake while my dad opted for the strawberry torte. While there was not enough crunch to the cheesecake base for my liking both desserts were fresh and fruity.

Overall, the service was friendly and portions very generous but the food, we thought, was just a little overpriced.

HOW IT RATED

The Holt Fleet, Holt Fleet, near Worcester.

Telephone: 01905 620286 Food ★★★✩✩ Value for money ★★✩✩✩ Ambience ★★★✩✩ Service ★★★✩✩