The Spade Oak, Bourne End, Buckinghamshire

There are lots of places that offer good value Sunday roast lunches. There are loads of places that offer really good quality Sunday roast lunches. Every now and again you stumble across a place that ticks both boxes and become firm favourite regular haunts. We have been regular visitors at the Horseshoes for a while now, we like the people, the beer, the food and the atmosphere. What's that got to do with The Spade Oak, I hear you cry? Well, the assistant manager at the Shoes went off a few months ago to manage his own pub within the M&B chain, The Spade Oak.

As hidden gems go, they don't come much more hidden than this. It's about a mile down a dead end road near the middle of nowhere, not too far from the M40 junction for High Wycombe. Rather like the Shoes, The Spade Oak is one of those places that makes you feel welcome right away, with a nice mixture of soft comfortable chairs and sofas, contempory decor and a traditional looking building. The busy dining room was open plan laid out around a central chimney, and there are enough soft furnishings around to make the place sound lively without being too noisy. Paul, the proud manager, introduced us to his head chef, Kevin, who told us about a roast platter that he'd just cooked for a family table. He made them a huge, fresh Yorkshire pudding and served them a selection of roast beef, pork and turkey with all (and I do mean all!) the trimmings inside it! Both he and Paul seemed very comfortable in the surroundings of the pub and stayed to chat for a few minutes. When we asked what he recommended, Kevin very kindly offered to cook us a platter in a Yorkshire pud, so we didn't even glance at the menu, although I believe it offers a similar selection to that available at the Horseshoes.

The biggest Yorkshire pudding I've ever seen (the picture doesnt give you much of a sense of scale) duly arrived, packed full of roasted meats, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, stuffing, pork crackling and delicious gravy. Together with a dish of assorted roasted vegetables, we were faced with enough food for four! As many of you will be well aware, I've eaten a few Sunday lunches, but I can't remember ever having eaten a better one. The meat was tasty, the veg cooked just right and the crackling ridiculously noisy! The gravy soaked into the base of the Yorkshire, but the sides stayed light and crispy...perfect. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this was probably the best Sunday lunch I've ever had. Can't wait to go back again, and being so close to Adams Park (my beloved London Wasps home ground) I'm sure it won't be long before we do.