Farm Massive Grill lives up to its name

But I cannot recall many occasions when I’ve been trounced by a portion size so generous.

The ‘Farm Massive Mixed Grill’ at Monk’s Bridge Farm in Dinnington is a magnificent sight to behold, and a formidable opponent.

Rump steak, pork lion, gammon steak, sausages, fried eggs, mushrooms, black pudding, onion rings, tomato, chips and peas.

At £14.25 it’s fantastic value, and the quality of the food is excellent.

I requested my steak to be rare, and rare it was.

Admittedly, it wasn’t the best cut of beef I’ve ever had, but it was more than good enough to justify the price.

The pork was tender, the gammon a little fatty and the sausages delicious.

A huge slab of black pudding, two crispy onion rings and a heap of chips had me struggling to clean the plate.

There was nothing in the meal that was thrown on the plate as an afterthought, it was well presented and in itself enough to draw me back to the pub.

My dining companions enjoyed the breaded scampi (£7.55), cottage pie (£7.45) and a ‘mix and match’ – a combination of two meal choices from the menu (£11.45).

The youngster in the group had a very decent choice from a well stocked kids menu.

Children can pick from traditional favourites like chicken nuggets, fish fingers, burger, pizza and sausage and mash for £3.25, or the more adventurous can have something a little more grown up for an extra 70 pence.

Shepherds pie, toad in the hole, chicken tikka were all on offer, but our little one chose the spaghetti bolognaise and clearly relished every mouthful.

The meat was of a good standard and there was plenty of it in the bolognaise.

As good as the food is, a trip to Monk’s Bridge Farm is more memorable for kids due to the facilities on offer.

A fantastic play area, right next to a number of tables in the ‘family’ section of the pub, keeps children entertained while they wait for food to be delivered – although our meals were on the table in an incredibly short amount of time.

Although no one at our table had room for a dessert, a tempting array of enormous cakes are cleverly situated right next to the till and we relented as far as to take one away for later.

Those with a sweet tooth will not be disappointed.

In fact it’s hard to point to any disappointing aspects of this restaurant pub – it’s clean, the staff are friendly and helpful and Monk’s Bridge Farm is big enough to cater for families and those looking for a quiet meal.

Just don’t underestimate the Farm Massive Mixed Grill.

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by Graham Smyth