Northbridge Hotel

It's a friendly, bustling place, the Northbridge, with a distinct demarcation between the prosaic front bar and the elegantly appointed rear where you find the beer garden. We start with white anchovy fillets, which are lovely enough but merely plonked on some lettuce when sourdough toast would have helped. Chicken 'nuggets' are just that and so is a lamb kebab starter. Mains are better, with a creamy chicken and leek pie an absolute standout. A special of duck confit and a grain-fed sirloin are nice but a chicken schnitzel with peas, carrots and mash is a little ordinary.