@thecrossatkenilworth : Living in the Shire there aren’t many ‘restaurant restaurants’ around at all. Instead, we have a fantastic selection of gastropubs, which are much more up my street, as they often aren’t overly pretentious and have a relaxed atmosphere. A few weeks back I visited The Cross at Kenilworth, a local pub new to the Michelin star game. To start, I had a lobster ravioli, which was packed full of flavour. I was impressed as often the delicate shellfish flavour can be lost in a ravioli, but this stayed true to its punch.

Open kitchens are the best, and countertop kitchens are even better. Though, I’ve never seen a kitchen like the one at The Cross where it merely has an opening like this - slightly odd. Go for it and knock it open, let the people see where the magic happens!

Next up and most definitely not to be missed was the parfait of chicken livers. I eat a lot of liver, in a variety of forms, and I can say this dish was sublime and probably the highlight of the meal. When visiting The Cross, don’t miss this.

Slow cooked beef cheek and sirloin - £29. This dish was very rich and a little sweet for me with the carrot. But, that’s more of a personal preference than an issue with the food. One thing that did strike me was this place is expensive with starters being £12-16 and mains £28-30+. I know it’s probably the best restaurant in the area, but these prices on a whole are similar if not more expensive than some of the top restaurants in London, and we're of course not in London

Ok I’m going to put it out there, stop with the melting chocolate balls please, these went out of fashion a couple of years ago now, the hype is dead I’ve seen 100s. Irrespective of my feelings this was one of the tastiest I’ve had to date comprising of cherry, chocolate and almond. Overall, I’d recommend visiting The Cross at Kenilworth and will be even more impressed if they can keep their Michelin star as the pub is actually huge, which will make it highly challenging.

Text and photographs by The Undercover Food Critic, 4th May, 2018. More Information: @the_undercover_food_critic