Despite visiting only a few days after New Year, the dining room at one Shrewsbury town centre restaurant was full of customers enjoying the January menu.
Tucked away on Swan Hill, the Coach and Horses is a traditional bar with Victorian-style dining area and large fire.
The fire, disappointingly, was not lit the evening we visited, but we warmed up after a large glass of mulled wine at the bar.
The staff were professional and helpful and, after we had chosen, starters arrived quickly. We shared a generous portion of battered whitebait and another of anchovy bruschetta. It was pleasing to find that both were served with a decent-sized side salad and vinaigrette dressing. The anchovy bruschetta was an unusual flavour but it worked well and starters all seemed good value at between £4 and £5 each.
For the main course we chose sea bass and the lamb. The sea bass was chosen from the specials board. It was full of flavour and was simply served with winter vegetables. The lamb shank came with Cumberland sauce and was out of this world. The meat was tender and fell off the bone, there was plenty of it and the nicely-presented root vegetable mash was a great comfort-food accompaniment.
A mint chocolate torte for pudding was perfectly pleasant but the puddings did not look like they were home made. The bread and butter pudding was slightly burned on top and could not live up to the amazing main course.
To go with the pudding, we wanted cappuccino; that wasn’t available but the filter coffee was excellent.
The service was speedy and the portions generous and it would be hard to find a safer bet for a good square meal with friends without blowing the budget.
The menu changes monthly and there is live music most Sunday evenings. It is also open for lunch until 2.30pm.
