Upon arrival we were welcomed by a barmaid who greeted us with a friendly smile, lunchtime menus for myself and two colleagues and seated us by the windows of the spacious eating area.

With a wide range of dishes including meat pies, roasts and fish and chips, as well as light bites such as soup of the day, we all quickly opted for the three-course lunchtime special at a cost of £4.95.

Like my colleagues I opted for the delicious tomato and herb soup, which arrived promptly and did the job of warming the cockles on a frosty February afternoon.

And after the promising starter I looked forward to more of the same from my main dish of pie and vegetables – but I was left feeling a little disappointed.

Not only were the vegetables a little on the cold side and slightly watery, the dish seemed to have been shoved together without much thought and the presentation reflected this.

And while one of my eating partners was less than enthusiastic about his roast of the day, my other colleague seemed thrilled to bits with his fish and chips which he said 'went down a treat'.

Hot on the heels of my main course were the sponge puddings, which were a little thick with custard for my liking, but left a sweet taste in the mouth and washed down with a glass of Coca Cola we left with smiles on our faces.

The staff at the Robin Hood were friendly and pleasant, but overall the cheap and cheerful atmosphere was sadly let down by some slightly below standard pub food despite a promising start.