The White Horse Review

Opened in March 2023 after an extensive renovation project, The White Horse in leafy Churton near Chester is the seventh restaurant from the Elite Bistros group, headed up by popular chef Gary Usher. Have visited several of their other venues (and indeed having my name on the wall at a couple too) I was very much looking forward to giving the place a try, and so I duly rocked up for lunch with my wife and two young children, on a sunny May Wednesday.

Finding the venue wasn't difficult and there's a good amount of parking on site, with a few spaces at the front and then a larger car park at the rear. Externally the pub looks pretty smart and that continues inside also, with a nice pub feel overall. We were welcomed warmly on arrival and given a choice between a table in the bustling bar area or further back in a sort of conservatory type area; we opted for the latter which was probably the right choice for us.

On offer at lunch is an all-encompassing menu with snacks, small plates and big plates as well as a decent three course children's menu which is always appreciated. Drinks wise there's a solid wine list and a good range of beers and spirts (as you'd expect in a pub I guess); there was no Hendrick's on offer for me, but my JJ Whitley gins with cucumber tonic were fine. There's a fair selection of non-alcoholic options also which is always nice to see.

Lunch began for me with the hot-smoked salmon salad, served with sour cream. This was entirely pleasant, nothing spectacular but I'd happily eat it again any time. My wife enjoyed her pork terrine, whilst my daughter had no complaints about her slice of garlic bread. My son was perfectly happy with his portion of chips from the kids menu too.

For mains, I opted for the curried lamb pork pie served with sticky cumin carrot and a broad bean chutney. The accompaniments were very tasty but I have to be honest and say the pie itself was a bit disappointing, mainly due to the fact there was barely any lamb contained within it (two small pieces, genuinely). I'm sure I was just unlucky on the day but whatever level of restaurant you're running, if you promise me a lamb pie, I'm going to expect some lamb in it. My wife had a bit more luck with her plaice and my daughter was happy with her kids burger too, but it's fair to say I'd been expecting a bit more from the mains here.

Of course, there was no chance of us leaving without dessert and whilst the kids very much enjoyed some ice cream and a Sundae from the kids menu, I gave the 'Chocolate Oblivion' a try. With a name like that I was half expecting Pierre Gagnaire to parachute in and personally deliver a mind blowing chocolate masterpiece to my table; it didn't hit those heights sadly, but it was a tasty dessert. My wife had the Yorkshire parkin which was nice too, but a tad on the dry side in truth.

And so after a bit of a wait, we were able to collect the bill (complete with an automatically included ten percent service charge) and bring an enjoyable lunch to an end. Service throughout was fine, the gentleman manager seemed to be on top of everything although some of the staff were obviously pretty new (not a surprise at all when the venue is only two months old) with the sound of smashing plates and glasses noticeable during the meal. The biggest disappointment though really was the food; don't get me wrong, it was a perfectly pleasant meal and way above the standard of normal pub grub, but I'd been really hoping for rock star pub food at that kind of genuine two AA rosette level I enjoy so much (I love top notch pub grub) and it just wasn't near that level sadly.

But nonetheless, we had a very enjoyable afternoon with good food and good service. I wish the team all the best going forwards and would happily visit again in future if in the area.