The Lamb on the Strand, an attractive looking red brick hostelry about a mile out of Semington on the main road between Trowbridge and Devizes, is one of those places you drive by a hundred times but never quite get round to trying out.

However, it popped into my head as somewhere to visit on my day off.

We arrived at 1pm to find it nicely busy, but still offering plenty of room in the warm and cosy interior. We bagged a table next to the wood burning stove.

The menu has a generous range of dishes, mostly traditional pub favour-ites but served with a modern twist, with all the evening selections available at lunch as well.

There is also a range of specials on offer, with fish clearly popular.

We opted for tapas for starters, sharing three dishes between two of us, choosing a chorizo and ham dish, my perennial favourite whitebait, and seared haloumi cheese.

These arrived with generous portions served in terracotta dishes on a wooden trencher board. The chorizo and ham was particularly tasty, whitebait well cooked and with a mayonnaise dip. Not so sure about haloumi cheese, which I found rather rubbery and salty but my wife Alison liked it.

By this time, feeling rather full, it was fortunate we had a bit of a wait for the main courses.

I had ordered the fish of the day in honey beer Cajun spiced batter, chips and crushed minted peas and Alison the locally sourced farm ham and eggs with chips and salad.

These were both beautifully presented and generously portioned. The spicy batter, with a mouthwatering aroma of pepper, complemented the fish as did an accompaniment of tartare sauce with whole capers.

The hand cut chips were very chunky and well cooked through.

Alison’s portion of ham would have fed two people and was very tasty and the fried eggs cooked perfectly. She likes to dip her chips in runny yolks.

We had run out of time (and room) to enjoy pudding as well but the menu includes favourites like sticky toffee, apple and berry cinnamon crumble and a chocolate heaven creation.

Our bill with a round of drinks came to a very reasonable £34.80. Definitely worth a visit.

*Food served: 7 days a week, noon-2.30pm; 6pm-9.30pm.

*Large car park; bus stop nearby.

*Children welcome.

*Sunday roast lunch and light bites.