The Somerset Arms

High Street

Semington BA14 6JR

01380 870067

IT had been a hard week at work, and I really didn’t fancy cooking so I told the family we were going out.

They were pleased, especially when they looked at the menu at the Somerset Arms.

This is a lovely, quiet pub, with a garden at the rear (sadly too cold that evening to sit and eat out), and which has a separate bar area as well as lots of room in the restaurant, decorated in a modern style with quirky touches like a graphic art menu in the main section.

The service was very prompt, and it didn’t take us too long to make up our minds.

The boys both decided on the BBQ chicken and bacon burger, £10.50, while I chose the Somerset smoky fish pie, £10.95.

The food arrived in comfortable, not over-generous portions, with the burgers topped with crispy onion rings skewered to the bun with a knife. David doesn’t usually like onion rings but said these were delicious. Ttop marks to a chef who can get a teenager to eat something he generally turns his nose up at.

The fish pie was piping hot and came with green beans and chantenay carrots. It had a sauté potato topping, rather than mash, so I had to pinch a chip or two to mop up the remaining cheesy sauce at the end. The filling was lovely, smoked haddock and tiny leeks – piping hot.

And so on to puddings: the chocolate brownie sundae, chocolate and vanilla ice cream with warm brownie pieces topped with chocolate sauce and cream, £5.95, tempted the family chocoholic, while my husband went for a vanilla crème brulee with shortbread, £5, and I tried the white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake with cream, £5.95.

I never got a taste of theirs and wasn’t willing to share mine. The texture was perfect, velvety with plenty of chocolate but a definite cheesecake flavour.

Our meal, with drinks – the pub is a freehouse with plenty of choice and I can thoroughly recommend the Lily’s pear and apple cider – was £55.55.

Alison Phillips