YOU'D be hard pushed to meet a friendlier landlord than Richard Edwards at The Potters Arms in Winchmore Hill. Smiley and unassuming he has been at the pub for 16 months and as well as running regular comedy nights and welcoming various clubs he is also offering a menu of pub classics with a restaurant feel.

I went along to the pub on a Monday night and I was surprised at how busy it was with a local stitching club sitting together in the bar.

There was a great atmosphere and at the centre of it was Richard, trying to keep up with demand. There is a restaurant section to the pub, which is where I sat with my boyfriend, Tom.

It has plenty of space and although a bit quieter, still felt nice and relaxed.

The pub has four bed and breakfast rooms which have been more or less full since April.

It also holds comedy nights, which are very popular- in September Paul Sinha from ITV's The Chase will be performing there.

The menu has a lot of choice and there is also a weekly two course supper menu, which offers good value.

The head chef is Simon Pinnock and it is the third place Richard and Simon have worked together.

Richard said: "I was so impressed with the way he worked. He started as a young kitchen porter and worked his way up."

He began to learn how to cook in different sections of the kitchen and through teaching himself he became a chef.

So what was Simon's food like?

For starters Tom had the Deep Fried Calamari with a crispy Thai salad and sweet chilli sauce (£5.75) and I had the Bubble and Squeak with smoked bacon, Hollandaise sauce and a poached egg (£5.25).

Other starters include soup, tomato and mozzarella salad and whole tiger prawns. The bubble and squeak was a refreshingly different starter for myself.

The Hollandaise sauce was creamy with a perfect consistency. The bacon was thick and smoked well and the egg was well cooked with a slightly runny yolk. And underneath it all was a healthy portion of bubble and squeak which rounded the dish off a treat.

I sneaked a piece of the calamari and it was cooked well- no tough squid here. The batter was divine- light and crispy and not too greasy. It was served with a very crispy salad and the sweet chilli sauce had a good kick to it.

For mains Tom went for the Pan Fried Lamb Steak with roasted mediterranean vegetables, roasted new potatoes and minted jus (£13.50) and I had the Slow Roasted Confit of Duck with butter mash, thyme, chorizo and butter bean jus (£13.95).

The duo of fish and chips is a popular dish, Richard said, and also the steaks.

The presentation with the lamb steak wasn’t as good as the starter, but it tasted good. The lamb was surrounded by chunks of pepper, courgettes and new potatoes in a sea of mint jus.

It was quite a simple dish but was all cooked well.

My duck confit was good but I actually felt the meat could have been cooked slower as it didn’t have the lovely soft texture you usually get with confit.

That being said the skin was really crisp, which is great, and the meat did taste good.

It was served with a creamy, delightful mash and a rich gravy with butter beans and small morsels of tasty chorizo.

For dessert Tom has the Raspberry and White Chocolate Trifle, served with a jug of cream (£5.25) and I had the Caramel Profiterole Cheesecake served with cream (£5.50).

Both were delicious. I loved the creamy taste of the white chocolate in the trifle, which was the perfect combination with the fresh raspberries.

The cheesecake was hugely calorific but divine- with three cream filled profiteroles sat on a piece of cheesecake, with a lovely caramel topping.

It was a rich and decadent end to a satisfying pub meal, which offers that little bit extra.

For more details go to www.pottersarms.co.uk