The Windmill Inn,

Stainsacre, near Whitby

In the middle of the warmest, driest summer in what must be more than a decade, there seemed like nothing more enticing than clocking off from work and going for a relaxing pint and meal with the family.

The Windmill is one of the few pubs in the Whitby area I have not visited since moving up to Yorkshire in the 80s – so this was a well overdue visit.

We arrived, ordered our drinks and chose to eat in the pub’s cosy dining room round the back.

It’s the sort of establishment where you should definitely arrive hungry, as you’ll not go wrong with the portion sizes.

With the wife following a Slimming World eating plan, it was just myself having a starter; I kicked off with the black pudding fritter and poached egg with a bacon and crouton salad.

The flavours and textures were lovely and blended effortlessly, certainly whetting the appetite for the next course.

Now the relevance of mentioning Slimming World is this – Emma had the 8oz rump steak but asked if she could sub the chips for something healthier, in this case new potatoes. Our server for the evening also asked if he should tell chef not to put any butter on her veg.

The verdict on the steak? It was a fair sized chunk of meat, cooked beautifully and the staff ’s flexibility with Emma’s dietary request was much appreciated.

While the specials offered some tasty looking options, not least the Rueben burger, the one that really jumped out from the page was the beef Madras, with half rice, half chips, naan bread and mango chutney. Although not claiming to be a curry connoisseur, I have sampled Madras dishes ranging from fairly mild to very fiery – and this was on the warmer end of the scale, washed down nicely with a cool drink, without feeling like you need to sprint to the nearest aquarium and neck its contents (goldfish optional).

Our son Jordan had the ciabatta pizza, with ham, which he had accompanied with chips and beans and there were certainly no complaints. Not least because all children’s meals are followed by a bowl of ice cream!

Emma and I were pretty full by this stage, but the desserts were that little too tempting, so we shared a sticky toffee pudding with a blob of ice cream, which rounded off a good value evening nicely.

I was also pleased to see a pool table in the bar – these, sadly, seem to be dying out fast. Luckily for Jordan, it was occupied – I didn’t want to have to seven-ball him again.

All in all, a very pleasant dining experience with good food. I was impressed with the service too, this is clearly a family-run business with attentive and friendly service and we felt like they actually cared that we enjoyed the meal. Well worth the trip out.