A carvery often veers from gorgeous to gruesome, with the gorgeously gruesome a particular favourite of mine.

Some are put of by shrivelled and sad veg but not me. I love the chance to manage the size of my own portion and love to play a kind of Bucking Bronco by seeing how many potatoes I can tower up before it all tumbles over the carpet.

To my delight, The Pickhurst in West Wickham was a cut above the budget dry meat vendors I’m used to.

For a start, the building itself is glorious – big and detached with solid beams and care taken to keep it looking nice.

This doesn’t always transfer into the interior, but it did here.

It’s very spacious and tidy. The burgundy and soft matte green decor gives a stately feel while a mix of bench seats, booths, counters and little nooks in the bar area give good variety to the seating.

As I entered, David Bowie was playing on the sound system. This could be OK, I thought.

The music soon slipped into soppy muzak with the brief respite of the Detroit Spinners but I was still buoyed by the rest of the experience.

The Pickhurst is one of few pubs that functions equally well as a restaurant – perhaps this is because it is spacious enough to have two distinct areas.

At the bar, I received lovely friendly service though I was a little put out to see only two ales – London Pride and Doom Bar (the latter £3.55 a pint) – on tap.

Taking my ticket round to the carvery, it took the waitresses three attempts to summon a chef from the kitchen to carve but the wait was worthwhile.

Sometimes carvery meat can be like sawdust and the serving tiny (occasionally a blessing) but here I got lamb that was still moist and studded with cloves of garlic.

OK, the veg was listless but there was plenty of it – red cabbage, parsnips and creamed leek being the highlights – and it was all very neatly and hygienically arranged.

A bargain for £5.95.

The Pickhurst, Pickhurst Lane, West Wickham

How it rated:

Atmosphere*** Generally older folk. Nice for a family meal

Decor **** Very pleasing

Staff *** Good but chef was a little slow and surly

Food *** Pretty good for a carvery

Drink ** Worse than average selection

Price **** Hard to fault