I visited a pub in a quiet South Staffordshire village and got lost in the number of quality and delicious meals on offer
Our resident food and drink correspondent James Vukmirovic took a trip out with his mum to the edge of Wolverhampton to visit a pub which has built a reputation for good and filling food.
Sometimes, it's nice to finally try out a place you've driven past for years, but never tried before as you can finally work out in your head whether it's as good as you think it might be.
For years, either with my family or on my own, I've gone up the A460 through Featherstone towards the M6 junction 11 on the way to see family in Rugeley, and as part of that, I've gone past the village of Shareshill and seen a pub called the Elms.
It's a pub set within a set of trees and greenery and which always looks busy, plus would seem to be ideally located for both locals wanting a place to gather and for people driving down the A460 and wanting a place to stop for a rest and a meal.
It's owned and operated by Davenports Brewery and after being given a substantial refurbishment in 2018, now consists of a bar area including pool table, live sports on TV and separate bar, a lounge area with an L shaped bar and a restaurant area serving both daytime and evening meals.
I've been to a few Davenports pubs before and they always seem to be nice and pleasant places to enjoy a meal and a drink, so when I was invited to come down and try out the menu at the Elms, I was happy to take a trip over and see if it measured up well.
It was also nice to be able to take my mum Diane with me as well as she can remember going there in the past for events and so could compare notes on what she remembered about the place, as well as see what she might like on the menu.
It was a sunny and warm Tuesday evening as we made our way over from Wolverhampton to Shareshill, taking a left off the busy A460 and driving up to the pub, which was lit up in the evening sunshine and which was also covered at the front in a lot of flowers and shrubs.
The pub also looked busy on the outside, with plenty of seats taken up by people enjoying the early summer sunshine with a pint and a chat with friends, so we entered through the front door, which was surrounded in brightly coloured flowers.
