AFTER a thoroughly irritating morning we decided lunch was in order, to restore both body and spirit: if ever we'd earned a treat, now was the time.

So we stopped off on the way back to west Wiltshire at The Crown, which is the long low whitewashed pub tucked away at the bottom of Sally in the Woods you've probably passed dozens of times.

Inside it's a bit of a decorative mixture, as if someone's read rather too many interior design magazines and then tried to put them into practice while still following the instructions from the brewery on decor: lovely bright painted walls are a bit overwhelmed by a wealth of sets of matching prints firmly screwed to the wall (probably, we decided, on instruction from health and safety, after all, who'd want to take them home?).

The very warm terracotta in the bar area gives way to shades of blue and green in the restaurant, and there are glimpses of a garden at the back with wooden tables.

The Crown has a variety of special offers on its food menu, changing every day, such as a free sweet if you order a starter and main course, two-for-the-price-of-one etc, a fish speciality and a range of desserts.

I thought the menu rather short: these days we've almost got used to having to wade through several pages of items and finding it difficult to make a choice.

As well as the standard pub fare such as lasagne, jacket potatoes, grills and sandwiches there were some interesting-sounding vegetarian dishes.

Not always a fish fan, my eye was caught by the cod fillet rolled around spinach in a prawn cream sauce.

Deciding to be good and go for salad rather than vegetables, I then spoilt the healthy eating bit by asking for chips.

In the event I wished I hadn't had either the salad was very small and boring, and the chips, excellent as they were, didn't really go with the very light taste and texture of the fish dish, which was a real pleasure.

The generous portion of cod had been carefully cooked so it was still juicy and tender, and it was some of the most flavour-filled cod I've had for ages.

The Crown also offers a fish special which changes daily depending on what's available.

Glenn, too, decided to be a bit waistline-conscious and had a salad royale, served with a warm bread roll. He fared better than I did in the salad department, with a generous plateful of crisp mixed leaves, chicken, bacon and hard-boiled eggs with a garlic dressing, although he did wish there had been a bit more of the latter.

The Crown is clearly a successful village local, where the bar staff greet regular customers by name and have their drink poured before they've reached the bar, and a pleasant venue for a meal.

The restaurant area, which takes up quite a large part of the pub, is kept separate from the main bar area and so feels quite private and peaceful.

Not really being used to weekday lunching, and thanks to The Crown's generous portions, we both felt too full and sleepy after a main course and a drink apiece to bother with pudding rather to my regret, be-cause the board offering home-made and deliciously calorie-filled treats did look tempting.

I recommend lunch here when you can dawdle over pudding, followed by coffee, and don't have to hurry back to fetch the kids from school.

by Alison Phillips

Fact File

The Crown Inn

Bathford Hill

Bath

Tel: (01225) 859428

Open lunchtimes 12 noon-2.30pm; evenings 6pm-9.30pm, Sunday 6pm-9pm.

Typical prices: Starters around £3.50, main courses around £7.75, desserts £4.

Disabled access.

Children welcome.

Non-smoking restaurant but smokers can be accommodated elsewhere.

Parking on pub forecourt or on the road.