We visited a popular Lichfield pub for dinner which boasts about being 'really good' - here's our verdict
It’s fair to say that it's is a popular place. When my husband and I arrived on a very wet Friday evening, the car park was full.
Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Ordinarily, I would have found somewhere close by to enjoy local food and drink to leave the car and wouldn’t have minded walking.
But it was raining cats and dogs and I didn’t want to turn up looking like a drowned rat.
So we had to wait it out and thankfully after about five minutes, a space became available.
By this time, there were several other drivers also biding their time in the hope of being able to park.
I took the queue for the car park as a very good sign and was grateful that I had booked a table as I think we may have struggled if the shortage of spaces was anything to go by.
The Three Tuns, located in Walsall Road, Lichfield, is part of the small Chilled Pubs chain and is described as “a really good pub”, with “seriously good food and an extensive range of drinks”.

Walking through the doors, my first impression was confirmed – it was very busy – but it was warm and inviting on such a miserable evening.
Glancing around as we waited to be shown to our table, I saw at least two groups celebrating birthdays and a lot of happy customers.
The plates of food being carried past us also looking very tempting.
We were shown to a table and it was explained that our order could be taken by a member of staff or if we didn’t want to wait, we could use the Chilled Pubs app to request our food.
What's on the menu at The Three Tuns in Lichfield?
The pub has two kitchens the main kitchen and the pizza kitchen and were warned that wood fired pizzas and main kitchen food may not arrive at exactly the same time and to bear that in mind.
Neither of us were in the mood for pizza although I definitely want to try them another time as the choices all sounded delicious.
Sticking to the main menu, it took us a while to decide what we wanted because everything sounded so good.
There were classic mains, burgers, steaks, sandwiches and big yakitori sticks - large skewers of meat, such as smokey barbecue rubbed chicken breast served with two sides.
A member of staff came to take our order and we each opted for one of the small yakitori sticks as a starter. The menu suggested having two or three of these as a starter – but we wanted to ensure we still had enough room left for dessert later. Ranging in price from £2.50 to £4, they seemed really good value.
I went for the lamb kofta served with homemade mint yoghurt and Neil chose the jerk beef kofta with jerk style sauce, pineapple salsa and green chilli.
There was a slight hiccup with our order and the two starters arrived along with one of the main courses – my Mongolian beef.
We had been expecting just the yakitori sticks and the mains to follow later but there had obviously been some confusion in the kitchen. These things happen and it really wasn’t a major issue.
The member of staff apologised and said it would request that the other main – Neil’s chicken Yakisoba was brought out as soon as possible so that could eat together.
My lamb kofta was very tasty, really well-seasoned and the mint yoghurt was lovely and creamy.
Neil also enjoyed his beef kofta but was feeling the heat as it was quite a kick of spice to it.

He said the sweetness of the salsa went very well with the fiery meat.
By the time we had finished, there was no sign of the other main – but the restaurant was so busy it was understandable.
So we decided to share the Mongolian beef, rather than let it go cold.
This is something we do quite a lot, choose two different mains and then share them so it wasn’t a hardship.
And as this dish turned out to the be the star of the show, it was good that we both had the chance to sample it.
Strips of fillet steak had been covered in home-made Mongolian sauce and served with roquito peppers, red chilli, spring onion, garlic and ginger and basmati rice.
It was delicious, the beef was lovely and tender and the sauce wonderfully sweet with a little kick from the chilli.
The chicken yakisoba arrived just as we had finished, which was good timing. This was a dish of soba noodles, chicken breast pieces, soy, honey and hoisin sauce with mixed peppers, Spanish onions, broccoli , spring onions, pickled ginger, sesame seeds and red chillies.

It was nice but the veg was a little under cooked (this may have been intentional).
Neil really liked it but it wasn’t something I would order again. After a little break, we decided to look at the dessert menu. Again, there was a lot of choice and hard decisions had to be made.
There was selection small dessert yakitori sticks and gelato cookie sandwiches as well as regular-sized puddings such as crème brûlée and Baileys sticky toffee pudding.
I decided to try a strawberry stick with a mint choc-chip gelato cookie sandwich.

Both were priced at £3, so ideal if you fancy something sweet but haven’t got space for a large dessert.
The combination of the fruity sweetness of the strawberries and the indulgent chocolate was the ultimate treat.
The cookie sandwich was also delicious – albeit a step too far as I was very full by the time I had finished. It was bigger than I expected so it was really good value.
The cookie was perfectly baked and the gelato went really well.
Neil opted for a cherry and coconut stick and a white chocolate cookie sandwich with lemon sorbet and enjoyed both.

Our verdict on a meal out at The Three Tuns in Lichfield
Overall, we were really impressed by The Three Tuns and with such a large and varied menu, it’s definitely somewhere you could return to time and time again. I think it was be great for large groups when you need somewhere to suit everybody’s tastes and preferences.
The food was also very good and apart from small hiccup with our order, the service was very friendly and efficient. When it was time to pay the bill, we realised we had been charged twice for the Mongolian but it was quickly rectified by a member of staff.
I was pleasantly surprised by the final total, which came to just under £60 for three courses each and a couple of drinks.