IT must be nigh on 30 years since I first made my acquaintance with the Gamecock at Austwick - a pint of the late lamented Yates and Jackson's outside in the evening sunshine to round off a day pottering amongst the extraordinary Norber boulders on the hillside .

For some reason that escapes me - probably some feeble undergraduate joke best forgotten - the Gamecock became known to me and mine as the Spotted Goat.

And it was to the Goat that we made our way for lunch on a day of wind and sheeting rain as July wound up, reminding us that autumn was not far away.

We were late. I have to say I didn't think we would get served. Arrive at 1.45pm and the kitchen has frequently just shut. But at the friendly Goat, there was no problem. By the time we had gone through the pretty extensive menu, it was getting on for 1.55. Yet we never felt pressured.

We ate in the tiny, cosy bar area. This can get very busy, but on this particular day it was very quiet - as I say, the weather was awful and only the foolhardy seemed to have ventured out.

We were spoiled for choice for starters. I was tempted by the asparagus and ham tartlet, but in the end went for the three cheese parcels. They went down a treat alongside the basil and tomato sauce that accompanied them. My wife had the mushroom risotto which was as light and creamy as you hope it will be, but often isn't.

For mains, we really had to go for something gamey - Rabbit pie for my wife and Game Cock pie for me.

The rabbit was in a creamy mustard sauce; the Game Cock was rich and winey. It contained all the usual suspects - venison etcetera - alongside snipe and I really wanted to try snipe. As a member of the RSPB, I'm not entirely sure I should eat it with a clear conscience... in the event, I couldn't tell which bit was snipe and which not. Never mind, it was all delicious.

Both pies came with chips. Now, in my very first column I had a bit of a whinge about pub/restaurant chips. Mostly bought in and dull, dull, dull. Well, I think I might have finally found the gold standard of chips here at Austwick. Genuinely home made, they have irregular shapes, some thick, some thin, not a bit greasy... a chip amongst chips. Not a dull one among them.

We were almost too full for puds, but we made the effort on behalf of Herald readers and were very glad we did.

There's a choice of 12 puddings plus cheese and ice cream and from this we eventually chose Bailey's and coffee creme brulee and pistachio tartlet with pistachio ice cream. Apparently, the blowtorch was kaput so the brulee remained unscorched. It didn't matter. If etiquette allowed, the ramekin would have been licked clean. The pistachio tartlet was almost too pretty to eat, but once tucked into was a real treat.

Without drinks, the total cost came to just short of £40, which for three courses for two can't be bad. And as for those chips... well, I'm tempted to go back just to order a big bowlful and wolf them down all by myself.

Reviewed by: Paul Wilson