Five stars for restaurant that served up "traditional and delicious" food

GANDERS in St Helens is a family concern, producing classic delicious food, with menus seasoned with creative inspiration and peppered with local distinctiveness.

We enthused about the tandoori mackerel — enjoying the marriage of strongly-flavoured fish with warming spices.

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The aromatic seasoning complimented, rather than fought with, the mackerel — allowing the flavour of the fish to break through.

One of Gander's dishes. (Image: Matt and Cat)

Veggie option, mushroom strudel. (Image: Matt and Cat)

Mango and coriander yoghurt dressing provided another well-considered flavour note.

Our other starter was filo pastry with salmon and prawns.

The seafood innards of these crispy flans were enrobed in a creamy basil mayonnaise and served on a bed on mixed leaves, studded with sweet hot red peppercorns. A smooth, fishy delight.

As it was Sunday, it was necessary to have one of the roast options.

Our generously-cut slices of full rib of beef were flavourful and tender. Some roast aficionados might consider the meat to be the main event — and Ganders pulled out all the stops in that regard.

But perhaps the true test is roast potatoes. Our roasties had a desirable layer of crunch, yet were satisfyingly soft in the middle.

Sunday roast beef dinner at Ganders in St Helens. (Image: Matt and Cat)

Lemon cheesecake with blackcurrant sauce and cream. (Image: Matt and Cat)

With a decent selection of fresh vegetables and a fluffy Yorkshire pudding, this was a Sunday roast we highly recommend.

The veggie option that day was mushroom strudel — a pastry log stuffed with a tasty mix of vegetables, rounded off with that distinctive earthiness of a decent mushroom.

The accompanying sage and red wine sauce was smooth and lightly-flavoured, with more of those red peppercorns.

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A filling alternative to the traditional Sunday lunch — but not so filling we couldn't make room for dessert.

Inside its regulation crust, the pavlova's meringue was fabulously chewy (none of that explosive powdery stuff here). Stuffed with fresh cream and raspberries, this was a wonderfully-textured and tasting pudding that belied its rather simple appearance.

The baked lemon cheesecake had the perfect consistency. The sparky citrus flavour danced with the tartness of the blackcurrant coulis, tempered by a puddle of single cream.

Our lunch at Ganders was satisfyingly traditional, with attentive, but not overbearing staff.

Our water jug was refilled and gluten-free rolls brought to the appropriate diner, without us needing to reiterate who that was.

Ganders is a fabulous little place. We loved the friendly and observant service and varied and delicious food.

What more could you want?

(Image: Matt and Cat)

(Image: Matt and Cat)