IF there's one thing you can be assured of at Jenkins & Sons, it's a warm welcome.

The former butchers, situated in Penn Hill Avenue, Poole, looks bright and cosy on a chilly autumn evening, when the nights are drawing in and you start craving comfort food.

Wednesday night is live music night, so the bar area was bustling as we walked in, with several full tables in the restaurant - always a good sign mid-week.

Our friendly waitress guided us to a quiet corner table and quickly furnished us with a drink and a menu to peruse.

We instantly felt relaxed in the eaterie, which has an industrial-style interior, echoing its butchers' roots.

In keeping with its history, Jenkins & Sons - which is part of the Urban Guild group which includes Urban Reef and the Urban Beach Hotel - has always had a big focus on meat. But it has recently introduced a whole new menu, after fitting a wood oven. The evening meals on offer now are predominately pizzas as well as a selection of "fired pots".

Daytime visitors can enjoy a choice of multigrain flat breads or ‘Panuozzo’ (a Naples street food sandwich), which are served from 12pm until 5pm.

To start, however, I was seduced by the baked Somerset Camembert (£10), while my husband chose the beef scrumpets (£7.50) - breaded, fried beef brisket.

The scrumpets, were stuffed full of tender, slow braised meat, perfectly matched with a rich beer chutney. My Camembert, which was easily large enough to share, was baked with honey, chilli flakes, preserved lemon and thyme, and served with a pot of chutney and a mountain of warm, baked bread.

The sweetness of the honey, and the light lemon flavour enhanced the tangy cheese taste beautifully - deliciously comforting.

I was rather worried I had peaked too soon, having been unable to resist the Camembert and feeling rather full already, but there was, thankfully, a little breathing space before our main courses wer served.

My husband chose the Dorset pizza (£12), topped with local mixed charcuterie and fresh red chilli, while, after much deliberation, I settled for the pork & fennel meatballs (£12.50).

Served in a red wine and rosemary sauce and topped with Old Winchester shavings, the meatballs were extremely generous in size! The dish was full of flavour, with an additional kick of spice, accompanied with satisfyingly chunky chips. I was disappointed to have to admit defeat after two and a half meatballs!

My husband's pizza was pleasingly thin and crispy, covered with tasty slices of meat, tangy cheese and plenty of chilli - just the way he likes it.

We were both adamant that we couldn't eat dessert, but all resolve went out the window when we had a look at the menu.

I went for the Urban Mess (£7), and my husband chose the trio of Purbeck ice cream or sorbet (£5.50), opting for a scoop of strawberry and two of vanilla.

Again, the Urban Mess - a mash-up of strawberries, grapes, double cream and meringue - was rather large and, although light, I didn't quite manage to finish it. The ice cream was creamy and full of flavour - just the right size portion following a large meal.

Great food, great atmosphere, great service - what more could you ask for?