The Prune Park Inn has had something of a colourful past, being at various times during its 100 year history a cattle farm and a mink farm.

In its previous incarnation it was the sort of pub where, to be honest, I often drove past but didn't think about stopping at.

One huge makeover later, and the Prune Park now straddles the border between being a gastronomic hideaway and a functioning pub for local people.

Split into two halves, the aptly-named Locals' Bar does exactly what it says on the tin, complete with big screen sporting events and earnest young men with guitars and backing tracks singing about love and loss on a weekend evening.

But turn right as you enter the pub and you'll find yourself in an intimate little brasserie that could possibly be one of Bradford's hidden treasures.

The Prune Park is situated on a narrow country lane that links Allerton and Wilsden, and commands fairly impressive views across the hillsides and fields from its considerable car-park and outdoor seating areas.

Indoors the restaurant has gone for an intimate bistro atmosphere, the dark wood-panelled restaurant floor over two floors conjures echoes of the building's rustic past.

It manages to maintain an atmosphere of intimacy with some tables tucked away in appealing nooks and crannies.

We turned up without a reservation on Friday night and managed to get a table, although I'm told that booking ahead is probably advisable, especially at weekends.

There was a large party being catered for in the upstairs room, so we took a cosy table downstairs, amongst three or four other small groups of diners.

The first thing that hits you about the Prune Park experience is the menu - there's rather a lot of it, which can make choosing your meal something of an ordeal, especially if you're as easily distracted and fickle as I am when presented with such a wide choice of mouthwatering descriptions.

A lot of effort has been made in assembling and even naming the menu. "Three soups in one bowl"? What madness is this? Of the mind that any such starter could only be the work of the devil, I allowed myself to be enticed by a much more heavenly mushroom and parmesan risotto with crispy black pudding and onion cream. Yes, it was exactly as good as it sounds. Reader, I scoffed it.

The other half, after hesitating over, of all things, a prawn cocktail (what is this? The Seventies? She'll be after Black Forest gateau next!) had the salmon fishcakes in lemon and thyme crumb with wilted spinach and lemon butter. To say she isn't generally a big fan of anything lemony on her plate, she thoroughly enjoyed it.

Duck was the order of the day for me, specifically pan-fried duck breast which came served with a sage and onion sausage, an orange and ginger potato cake and a honey and ginger jus, or gravy as they used to call it in my day.

The duck was nicely pink and the potato cake a pleasing blend. The sausage I found a little dry and crumbly, which was the only low point.

Pan-fried sirloin steak was my wife's choice, and the staff accommodatingly substituted the advertised Cajun spiced potato wedges for her preference of homemade chips.

It also came with a baked flat mushroom and a side order of vegetables for both of us.

There had been a rather longer than usual wait for our starters, for which we did receive profuse apologies from the friendly staff, but that was pretty much our only gripe from the night.

It would have been nicer to see the downstairs section a little fuller, given it was a Friday night, to add to the atmosphere, but hopefully this is something that a little word of mouth about the Prune Park Inn will rectify.

WHAT WE ATE: Starters, mushroom and parmeson risotto with black pudding - £4.95, salmon fishcakes - £4.95. Main course, pan-fried duck breast - £12.95, pan-fried sirloin steak - £12.95. Total cost (without drinks) - £35.80.

VERDICT: Food - four stars; service - four stars; atmosphere - three stars; value for money - three stars.

Parking: Large car park attached to the pub.

  • Our writers comment on what they find during a single visit. They accept standards vary from day to day. In the interest of fairness, they do not reveal their identities, and they pay for their meals in full. Each venue is judged against other restaurants of a similar type.