MY husband, Dave, and I visited the Barley Mow in Studley on a Friday night to sample what was on offer since it was taken over by Stonehouse Pizza & Carvery and undergone a renovation.

Often when we eat out Dave, a vegetarian, is faced with a choice of one main meal, which usually consists of a vast amount of goat's cheese.

But vegetarians are far from an afterthought here, and there was an impressive choice.

There were various pizzas, butternut and chickpea burger, macaroni and cheese, a vegetable tart, and not to be left out from the experience - a meat free carvery.

To begin, we chose five of the pick and mix starters. These are all served in little bowls but on the same plate, so my husband and I did feel like we got to enjoy sharing a course together, despite me being a committed carnivore and he, a dedicated vegi.

Selected were bbq pork riblets, beer battered onion bites with a sour cream dip, crispy potato skins, beer battered salt and pepper mushrooms with a blue cheese dip, and bbq glazed chicken wings.

We were thrilled with our choices but the stand out dishes for me were the riblets, and the mushrooms. The meat on the riblets was juicy, tasty and fell off the bone, and the mushrooms were delicious coupled with the mouthwatering blue cheese dip.

For main, my husband opted for the veggie supreme pizza. This came generously topped with sweetcorn, peppers, red onions, mushrooms and mozzarella.

Dave said it was fresh tasting, excellently cooked and he thoroughly enjoyed it.

I chose a beef burger, with the addition of blue cheese and mushroom (or blue moo n shroom as it was described on the menu), and it was a delight.

This was a slab of pure, succulent beefiness, and my one regret was that I couldn't quite finish it, having already eaten so much.

Bromsgrove Advertiser:

There was a lot of activity around the carvery section of the Barley Mow, with people coming away with generously filled plates of meat, carved expertly by the staff, and vegetables, which you help yourself too. I might have to try this in the future.

With the other main options, you also get to help yourself to chips, coleslaw, salad, sauces etc, which worked really well for me. When I go out for a meal I don’t want a plate laden with chips, which I then have to leave on my plate. Being able to pick just a few, along with a generous portion of coleslaw, meant I got to get exactly what I wanted on my plate.

Needless to say the prospect of eating a dessert filled us with dread after the amount we had already consumed. But had we shown more restraint up until this point, we would have been spoilt for choice. From the simple but delightful sounding home baked lemon sponge, to the more decadent chocolate fudge cake, there was something to satisfy all tastes.

The food was delicious and excellent value, there is a real relaxed, family atmosphere to the Barley Mow, and their cheerful, knowledgeable staff are an absolute credit to them.

So it's not so much a case of would we visit it again, it is more a case of when.

For more details and to book, call 01527 854386.