Enjoying a week-day pub lunch at The Buck, Great Ayton

Sadly, we don't live in an ideal world, and sometimes, caught between various errands, work commitments, and life admin, you just need a decent, relatively inexpensive meal, turned around sharpish.

My sister and I found ourselves in just this position in Great Ayton on a recent Friday and, having tried most of the cafes over the years, decided we were more in a pub mood. Claire remembered a work friend had highly recommended Sunday lunches at The Buck, so in we went, and chose a table by the big bay window.

The view across to Low Green and the River Leven was lovely, and it was an excellent spot to watch the world go by – traffic motoring along the busy A173, dog walkers scooting along the paths, and leaves whirling off the trees in the autumn winds.

The Buck's menu offers a selection of stone baked pizzas, "world famous" parmesans with various toppings, and "house favourites" such as chicken, bacon and leek pie (£18.95), cod and chips (small £11.95, large £17.95), and the "Big Buck" smashed double beef burger (£15.95).

We decided on something a bit lighter – sandwiches are served 12pm to 3pm – and I chose the hot roast beef roll with roasties and gravy (£11.95) and Claire went for the pesto chicken (£8.95) with a side order of chips (£3.95).

Even though it was only just after 12pm, there was already a nice buzz about the place, with a group of workmen in for a lunchtime drink, and a few tables occupied by fellow diners. The decor is traditional country pub – dark wood furniture and tartan carpets, with stags on the wallpaper and antler-style light fittings a nice nod to the name. It being Halloween, thankfully there were only a couple of mini-pumpkins on the bar and a little sign on the fireplace rather than the full-scale horror show some places go for.

Our food arrived relatively swiftly, delivered with a smile and a bit of chat by the friendly servers, and I was delighted to see the promised gravy was a plentiful portion in its own tiny saucepan. Recently I was bemused to be served a teapot containing extra gravy for a Sunday lunch in the Beefeater at Darlington's Morton Park. It wasn't a style-choice, the waitress said she couldn't find a jug/boat but actually, it was quite ingenious – it poured well and kept the gravy nice and hot. We did have to be careful not to get mixed up though when we ordered a round of teas to accompany dessert.

Anyway, back to The Buck – this gravy was excellent, as was the filling in the seeded brioche bun. Three huge slabs of melt-in-the-mouth beef – delicious – and if that's what comes with the Sunday roasts, then the recommendation was understandable. The roasties were lovely and crispy, although could perhaps have been tastier.

Claire enjoyed her pesto chicken sandwich, which, when combined with the sharpness of sundried tomatoes and peppery rocket, made for a nice combination of flavours. She thought the chips – twice cooked – excellent and even better when I generously donated the last of my gravy for her to dip a few of them in.

With two pints of fresh orange and lemonade, the bill came to a smidge over £34 – reasonable value we thought.

As we paid up, the bar team were talking through all the different ales with a customer and offering him samples for any he liked the sound of.

It would have been nice to have stayed longer and enjoyed some more of The Buck's hospitality, but reality was calling, and off we went to crack on with yet more jobs, fortified by a very satisfying lunch.

The Buck, 1 West Terrace, Great Ayton, TS96PA
01642 722242
thebuckgreatayton.co.uk

Ratings (out of ten)

Surroundings 7
Service 8
Food quality 8
Value for money 8