AFTER hearing from work colleagues that The Poplars was a great place to visit for a variety of dishes and well-made food, I decided to book a table for my girlfriend and I.

Located just a few minutes outside the centre of Trowbridge, The Poplars has a number of parking spaces, meaning finding a spot should never be a problem and it’s fairly easy to find along the main road.

It had what I thought was a slightly unusual set-up when we entered, with half the place looking like your traditional local pub while the other half was a very elegant candle-lit restaurant, which were separated by a wall.

A friendly member of staff directed us to our table and took our drink orders, a coke (£3.20) and large glass of Pinot Grigio (£5.70).

The menu had a good selection of starters such as the traditional soup of the day as well as homemade fishcakes and baked Camembert.

After giving it some thought we decided to both go for duck liver pate with apple and ginger chutney and toast (£5.95).

Less than ten minutes later our food arrived and the duck pate was not only terrific but there was plenty of it, while the apple and ginger chutney complemented it well.

For the mains I decided to keep it plain and simple and ordered an 8oz rump steak with chips and vegetables (£13.95), and my girlfriend ordered a duck leg with orange and red wine gravy from the day’s specials as well as new potatoes and vegetables (£14.95).

When the food did arrive it was without my chips but after a brief query to a member of staff that I did order them, they arrived seconds later along with an apology.

No sooner had I started eating though did I realise that I’d made a huge mistake in not ordering any sauce to go with my steak, despite there being a big selection from garlic crayfish tails to brandy and pepper.

This fault lay with no one else but myself but it did make eating the steak, which was nice but nothing special, a little more difficult as it was pretty dry.

Even more annoyingly, there seemed to be a great selection of dishes on the menu and on the day’s specials which would have been great to try, including grilled kangaroo rump and slow-roasted lamb shoulder.

To end the night on a high we ordered a crème brulee with raspberries and banana and toffee pudding, both for £5.50 which were tasty and not too filling or sweet.

Overall my eating out experience at The Poplars was a pleasant one, the staff were very friendly and helpful and it had a very welcoming atmosphere.

The food on the whole was good, with a variety of dishes available from the menu at a fair price and only this fool sitting behind the keyboard letting the experience down by not ordering some sauce to go with his steak!

Total bill, including six dishes and three drinks, came to £62.30.

The Poplars

Address: Shop Lane, Wingfield, BA14 9LN

Number: 01225 752426

Email: info@poplarsinn.co.uk

Parking: Yes

Disabled access: Yes

Gazette ratings:

Food: 8/10

Choices: 8/10

Décor: 9/10

Customer Service: 9/10

Main course prices: £12.95-£22.95

TripAdvisor: 4.5/5