Dine Out review: The Bar and Grill at Ribby Hall dished up some delicious grub

We took our two lads – aged seven and four – to burn off some steam, considering they’re not at school or nursery and their extracurricular activities have ended for the Christmas break.

There is loads to do there, and we spent a good couple of hours letting the kids cover themselves in mud and sand in the play areas before sitting down for a genuinely delightful meal at one of the site’s eateries, the Bar and Grill.

While relatively unassuming from the outside, it’s tastefully decorated and homely once you step through the doors. We were welcomed by a smiling member of staff, who led us to a booth and sat us down at around 1pm on Sunday, even though we hadn’t booked.

The diner is part of a larger complex, which includes a soft play area, an entertainment suite, which was hosting an ‘elf adventure’ that had to be pre-booked, an amusement arcade, and an 18-plus-only bar, which was showing the football. It was clean and there was a jovial atmosphere of festive-feeling folk.

The service throughout our visit was exemplary. It was attentive but not enough to be disturbing, pleasant, and quick. We were never left waiting for too long and staff were all too happy to accommodate our requests.

It’s also extremely family-friendly. I’ve said it before, but there’s nothing worse than sitting red-faced for two hours because your children are, let’s face it, just being children but in an environment that just isn’t suitable for them. Our lads were given children’s menus they could colour in, and the chatter from other tables drowned out their occasional loud voices.

Our youngest lad insisted he wasn’t going to be eating anything and just wanted a drink!

The older lad had chicken goujons, fries, and baked beans, with red sauce (£5.50). He said the chicken was nice and moist, and the fries were crisp and hot. He said he didn’t like the beans, so obviously I had to try some and thought they were nice. Kids, eh?

The missus had the Sunday roast, choosing chicken (£11.50 for adults, £6.50 for children) over a slow-cooked blade of beef (£12.95/£6.95), which came with roast potatoes, roast carrots, green beans, mange tout, brussel sprouts, pork and cranberry stuffing, Yorkshire pudding, and red wine gravy.

She ate everything except the sprouts which, I suspect, many readers will today be relating to, and said she enjoyed her meal.

I had the piri piri chicken fajitas (£14.95), which was piri piri chicken (obviously), garlic peppers and onions, flour tortillas, mozzarella, spicy wedges, and salsa and sour cream.

The chicken was cooked to perfection. It was fresh and moist and expertly seasoned. There was far too much of the stuff to fit on the two large tortilla breads, so I ended up eating some of it with a fork.

The peppers and onions were also well cooked – soft but not soggy – but didn’t taste of garlic, though they were very nice.

Overall, I really, really enjoyed my meal and thought the portion size was generous, especially with the side of wedges.

I was too full for dessert, and the youngest lad wasn’t allowed any – no dinner, no dessert! – so it was only our oldest boy and the other half tucking in.

The lad had a children’s ice cream (£1.75), picking chocolate from a selection that also included strawberry and vanilla, and chocolate sauce from a selection that also included strawberry.

At first glance, the portion seemed quite small, but it still defeated him, especially because his dinner was so filling. He enjoyed it, too.

The missus chose sticky toffee pudding (£5.50), asking for custard with it instead of the advertised vanilla ice cream. The boys crowded round her to share because it was so delicious.

Our bill including drinks – Pepsi Max £2.60, Coke Zero £2.80, and blackcurrant juice 60p – came to £39.70. which was good value. Go visit, it’s worth the time and the money.