Great-value pub is perfect place to let off steam after day at the shops

A Steam Wheeler’s crew make sure they run a happy ship.

There were plenty of happy passengers, I mean customers, when I popped in for a drink and a bite to eat there.

The venue is close to Braehead shopping mall, a stone’s throw from the King George V docks, which I suspect had an influence on its name.

This family-friendly pub has a gut-busting carvery for under a tenner per head – the perfect tonic after traipsing round the shops all day spending cash on home furnishings.

Large slices of succulent beef, mouth-watering turkey and tasty ham make for a meat-lovers’ paradise. Potatoes and vegetables just about fitted on my plate. If the carvery isn’t what you fancy, The Steam Wheeler also offers a range of burgers and Italian and Indian mainstays including pizzas, lasagnes and chicken tikka masala.

A few vegetarian dishes are available but the venue appears to know its crowd- puller is definitely the carvery selection.

The v a l u e - f o r- money children’s menu – with three courses for £ 6.45 – softens the blow when junior is suddenly hit with a “sore tummy”. Funny how that happens at meal times…

There is also an excellent beer garden, which just couldn’t be ignored while the sun was shining.

A free play area kept the little darlings occupied between courses and there is plenty of parking outside.

But my favourite find was a large glass of chardonnay for under a fiver. Beer prices were also slightly less expensive than I expected.

All in all, The Steam Wheeler – owned by the giant Marston chain – is a bar that is sailing in the right direction.