UNLESS you’re a local, you might not know this place even exists as it’s situated in the middle of a quiet, leafy suburb in Poole.

But The Inn In The Park, an 18th century building in the upmarket, residential area of Branksome Park, is worth a visit.

There are five bedrooms, a restaurant and a pub which serves a full range of Wadworth cask conditioned ales and fine wines.

We have often popped into the pub with the dog for a mid-week drink as it is just a short walk from where we live and there is always a congenial atmosphere, but until now we’d never actually eaten there.

According to the website, the restaurant and bar offer a good range of quality home-cooked, locally sourced food, from á la carte to bar snacks.

We felt the restaurant was a tad expensive for a mid-week treat so we decided to check out the bar snacks.

The good news is that pub has just launched a steak night menu on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You have the choice of rump, rib-eye, bacon or swordfish for £9 which includes chips, peas and onion rings.

The place was already buzzing when we arrived at around 7.30pm on a Thursday and we were given a warm welcome.

Unfortunately my meal didn’t get off to the best start as I ordered brie wedges, which tasted as though they had been deep fried more than once. The cheese was encased in a rather hard crust as opposed to a light crumb coating.

But our main courses were worth the money. My husband’s dish was laden with two rump steaks, one cooked medium rare and the other medium, well accompanied with a generous portion of chips, two onion rings, half a beef tomato and peas.

My swordfish steak was a smaller portion but it was perfectly cooked and came with the same trimmings.

To round off the meal my husband ordered apple pie, which came with lashings of creamy custard and a strawberry garnish so he was happy. Overall we enjoyed the evening.

When we have a special occasion we’ll definitely be back to check out the restaurant, which boasts fresh, locally caught fish as a speciality.

The Bill

  • Breaded brie wedges  £6.95
  • Steak special x 2 £18.00
  • Apple pie  £4.50
  • Sauvignon Blanc (glass) £4.00
  • TOTAL:   £33.45
  • This is an independent review by a reporter without the cooperation of the establishment.