WHEN I invited my mates to join me for dinner at The Amberley Inn I had no idea what to expect.

What we discovered was excellent food, friendly and knowledgeable staff in a cosy, comfortable setting.

Jane and Trevor Bandey are relatively new at the helm of The Amberley – and they're doing a great job.

There's a bar menu and a restaurant menu, and a choice of rooms, from the cosy traditional bar to the more formal Culver Room for restaurant dining.

We parked ourselves on the cushions beside the fire in the cosy wood-panelled lounge bar.

There are a range of options to suit budgets. The bar menu features traditional and reasonably priced options such as moules marinere (£9.95) and beer-battered fish (£11.95) as well as chips, snacks and sandwiches for £5.95.

But the restaurant menu proved too much of a temptation.

We skipped the starters, missing delights such as mulled pear with walnuts and stilton for £6.45.

My breast of Gressingham duck accompanied with a rich winter berry and port sauce and sauteed potatoes (£15.95) was really excellent.

The sauce was beautifully rich, to the point where I was spooning up the leftovers, the meat tender and the potatoes crunchy and tasty.

My friends are both real foodies and, with a keen critical eye, they were both delighted with their main courses.

A braised lamb shank in bordelaise sauce (£14.95) had flaky tender meat, which my dear friend allowed us to try, and an irresistible portion of creamy dauphinoise potatoes.

My other friend enjoyed an Aberdeen Angus sirloin steak with hand-cooked chips, mushrooms, and grilled tomatoes (£15.95).

The food and service were both excellent. When one friend requested tartare sauce, it emerged shortly afterwards, freshly-prepared and completely homemade.

It was a quiet night and we might have felt a little conspicuous but we were treated to a warm welcome.

My friends and I rarely have the chance to catch up and we can chat non-stop but the desserts reduced us all to silence, interrupted by the odd 'mmmm'.

A Baileys croissant pudding (£5.25) sounded intriguing and proved to be fabulous. It was an extremely light posh bread and butter pudding. Delicate croissants and sweet, creamy Baileys. Totally yummy, to the point that we had to quiz chef and manager Jane for the recipe.

My homemade banoffee pie was good but not quite so special – my friend commented that it might have been better with a biscuit base rather than a pastry one.

We may have to return to sample Jane's other dessert offerings.

We're three busy, tired mums who really enjoy a bit of pampering, good service and great food – and we found it at the Amberley Inn.