THE Sausage Tree has quite a name in High Wycombe, although it is tucked away in a back street opposite The Rye and could be easily missed. But mention it to any long term resident and they are sure to have a view on it. Having been on my list of places to eat for a long time I was impressed by the choice and standard of the food on offer.

I went on a Monday night with my boyfriend, Tom, and I was surprised at how busy it was with at least half the tables full.

There was nice relaxed feel in the pub, which has chunky wooden tables and chairs. The walls are adorned with caricatures of sports players such as Freddie Flintoff, and when I asked about this it is quite simply because the owner likes sport.

There are a huge selection of beers behind the long bar and friendly staff on hand.

There are a small selection of starters on the bar menu ranging from homemade soup of the day (£3.99) to a Greek Meze (£5.50).

But we dived straight into the mains. The speciality is of course sausages with a HUGE range of 50 choices from Spanish to Beef and Guinness to Thai Chicken. It really is impressive how much choice there is.

And then there are the hot rocks which are steaks which you cook yourself on a hot stone, which is 475 degrees.

As well as this there are a small selection of mains on the bar menu from rack of ribs to a classic beef burger and cheese.

Tom went for the Pork, Banana and Honey sausage which was created when Bill O'Hagan appeared on the Paul O'Grady show.

The two quarter pound sausages are served with cheddar mash or plain mash with peas or beans, and an onion gravy.

The sausages were a delight actually despite the weird combination with a wonderfully sweet taste to the succulent pork. The mash was perfectly done, as was the onion gravy.

They are not huge portions and cost £10.99 for two sausages or £9.99 for a small portion.

This does seem slightly overpriced, but perhaps is justified by the amount of choice- where else would you find a selection of 50 sausages? And everything on the plate is done well.

I went for one of the hot rocks. Before deciding the manager, Ivona, brought out a list of how many steaks they had left of each and what was available that day.

There is a mixture between exotic steaks and some of the more normal variety.

On the exotic menu there was ostrich, crocodile and even horse. I went for the Springbok (£14.95).

It is served on the stone, which you then take off and are recommended to slice and cook to how you would like it on the rock. Either side of the plate in ceramic plates are your sides. I found the lay out quite strange as it reminded me slightly of school dinners.

This aside I went for chunky chips and salad, but you could also have new potatoes or Mediterranean vegetables.

Now I've heard a few people say, why would you want to cook your own steak when you are out? But it does have a great novelty factor and you can cook it to exactly how you like it.

The springbok was truly delicious- it was like a sweet beef steak- and incredibly lean and didn't feel quite as heavy in my stomach as beef.

The chips were chunky and fluffy inside and the salad of leaves, tomatoes, green peppers and red onion had a lovely French dressing.

The side of onion rings (£2.99) were also well cooked with a fluffy batter.

The price of the steaks do go up to a heady £24, and again I think they were a few pounds dearer than perhaps they should be.

Desserts were a welcome treat and they are all priced at a reasonable £5.50.

Tom went for the Lemon Meringue Pie, which was a nice sized slice with a very zesty creamy filling and the perfectly crisp yet slightly soft meringue on top. The strawberry sauce and vanilla ice cream surprisingly worked well with the pie.

I went for the Chocolate Puddle Pudding, which I was truly impressed with.

The sponge was light and moist with the most delicious chocolatey, fudgey rich chocolate sauce and the vanilla ice cream complimented this perfectly. I cleared the plate as it was so well done.

I liked The Sausage Tree. Yes, the prices are perhaps more than you would expect to pay. However, for the amount of choice, the novelty factor and the variety on the menu I think the extra few pounds make it just about worth it.

They also do offer special deals throughout the week, with Monday and Wednesdays being sausage nights with two sausage meals plus a bottle of wine for one £19.95 and Tuesdays and Thursday nights for two rump steaks and a bottle of house wine for only £24.95.

Whichever way you look at it The Sausage Tree is a great asset for High Wycombe.

Go to www.sausagetreepub.co.uk