The North Pole is a fairly newly-converted gastro-pub with the right things in all the right places – a lovely little terrace for summer days, an open kitchen, cosy furnishings and log fires for the winter and cool northern soul music playing throughout.

The place is seriously into beer – there is a multitude of the stuff, from 20 or so draught to more than 30 bottles, including some intriguing little fruit numbers and one with a whole chilli inside (spicy, unsurprisingly).

Moist

The menu is pretty ambitious and wide-ranging for a pub, and veers generally towards Texan BBQ style, although there are pizzas and a nice “three for a tenner” light bites option.

We started with a big old pint of prawns, which were a bit of a struggle to shell, but came out fresh and moist despite having no dressing.

We also had the home-made scotch egg, which was a lovely seasoned treat with the yolk miraculously still soft inside.

For mains we had a well cooked and juicy rib-eye steak with all the trimmings, and a truly enormous full rack of ribs, smothered in tangy barbecue sauce, which were a bargain for �12.

In fact the whole menu was good value, and with plenty of things to attract locals, like a loyalty card and beef and beer Tuesdays, The North Pole is a happy addition to the area.