Pub with proper food that feels like a rural inn

THERE HAS BEEN A SPRUCE-UP BUT IT RETAINS TRADITIONAL FEEL

- By LYNETTE PINCHESS

IT'S not even 30 seconds since we've turned off the busy A52, with three lanes of traffic in either direction, yet we're suddenly in a picturesque village with a park, quaint looking nursery school with a bell tower and church spire.

Our destination is on the left - the White Lion, an olde worlde redbrick pub, which has a touch of charm about it. The location is Bramcote Village, as opposed to the more suburban Bramcote on the other side of Derby Road.

We've turned up on the hoof for food, and also to see if the recent refresh and kitchen expansion has made a difference. We can see right into the new kitchen before we step inside the pub, in converted garages that were standing idle in the car park beforehand.

I'd like to say inside looks fresh and tidy but there's cobwebs everywhere and some pretty grim-looking folk... I jest, it's only the Halloween decorations.

The main bar has been spruced up, nothing flouncy or chintzy, so it still has that traditional feel about it with wooden beams, small windows and muted tones.

The pub, in Town Street, has been around for a good while, serving beers since the 1800s, and thankfully it's not been ripped apart or lost any of the quirky nooks and crannies over the years. It very much feels like a rural inn even though it's on the outskirts Beeston.