The fish fell flat at The Litten Tree

So when I found myself in need of a quick lunch, I though I would give The Litten Tree in Worksop a try.

The place was busy, which was reassuring, and I found myself a table by the window.

The menu had a lot of choice and it took me a while to take it all in, with the various offers and promotions.

There were a good variety of things on offer. Most main meals including traditional favourites like fish and chips and steak pie were all priced at around £5.55.

There were also an array of wraps, sandwiches and flat breads priced at £4.75 including a drink.

In the end, as I needed something hearty and filling and in honour of National Chip Week, I decided to go for the fish and chips.

I sat down with my newspaper and glass of coke and waited for my food. The dirty glass my coke came in maybe should have been a warning sign.

I always dread food appearing within a few minutes in chain pubs, so was reassured when after 15 minutes my food was nowhere to be seen.

When it did arrive it was obvious why it had been delayed. It was burnt.

The batter was a dark brown colour and my knife and fork made hard work of cutting through the charred and chewy fish.

When I did manage to get some onto my fork, the fish had quite a nice flavour. You could tell that once upon a time it would have been a nice dish.

If I would have had a little more time I would have sent it back. But already half way into my lunch hour and with a rumbling stomach, I had no choice but to plough on.

The chips were tasty enough and the tartare sauce was tangy and fresh. But the mushy peas were an unappealing hue of green. They would have tasted OK, if a wedge of lemon hadn’t been dumped in among them.

I will admit, I cleaned my plate. But that was more to do with levels of hunger than how tasty the dish was.

I had harboured thoughts of having a pudding, but my experience with my main course didn’t leave me wanting to take the risk.

There were some tasty sounding things on offer though, all priced at £4.25 including toffee apple crumble and chocolate orange cheesecake.

I said earlier that it had been a number of years since I had eaten in a Yates, and I think it will be a good many years before I do it again.

The only thing keeping this from being a two star review was the price. You can’t expect perfection for £6.74 for a meal and drink.

Claire O’Neill

3 stars