BEFORE visiting the Half Butt Inn, I pictured it as a typical village pub.

Real ales on tap, expensive gastro food on the menu, views of beautiful scenery stretching into the distance and compelling silence from the locals as soon as an outsider steps in through the doors.

Unsurprisingly, most of my lazy and laboured stereotypes were dispelled within minutes of arriving one Friday lunchtime.

My girlfriend and I, and especially our baby daughter, were given an immediate friendly greeting by the landlady.

There were ales available like any pub, but the food prices were far from gastronomical.

And as Great Horkesley has seen its fair share of development over the years, the attractive garden offered views of rows of houses rather than rolling countryside.

The menu includes a handful of starters which sounded nice enough, but didn’t set the pulses racing.

So we decided to go straight in for the mains.

My girlfriend’s fishcakes, served with a decent portion of chips and a salad, were tasty enough, but offered little more than you could get out of a packet at home.

My duck breast, served with a brandy and blackcurrant sauce and vegetables, was a class act.

If years of watching Masterchef have taught me one thing, it’s you should burn most of the fat off duck breasts and ensure the skin is crispy.

Mine was pretty much perfect in both regards, and coupled with the moreish sauce made for the best duck I’ve had in some time.

For dessert, all of the restaurant standards were on offer, so we decided to go for the cheesecake and chocolate fudge cake and go halves.

That was the theory, but each was so delicious we were both unwilling to give up even half of our choices. The portions were also ample, meaning we had few regrets over skipping the starters.

With a couple of soft drinks, our meal came in at a little under £35 – great value.

Anyone looking for a decent meal in a friendly pub this summer could do an awful lot worse than try the Half Butt Inn.

THE BILL

Pan-fried duck breast  £10.95
Salmon, lemon & dill fishcakes  £8.95
Double chocolate cheesecake  £4.95
Chocolate fudge cake  £4.95

THE VERDICT (Out of 5)

Atmosphere 4
Food 4
Decor 4
Value 4
Service 5

Disabled access? Yes