VenueThe Foxhouse, Penistone Road, Hepworth,

Tel01226 762536

Websitewww.thefoxhouseinn.co.uk

Opening hoursMon 5pm - 11.30pm, Tues-Sat 11.30am - 11.30pm, Sun 12noon - 11pm

ChildrenWelcome with own menu

Disabled accessLimited but due to be improved

The bill£55.90 including four drinks

WE must be mad was the mantra that sprang to mind as we set out for a meal.

After all, we were in the depths of the coldest and most prolonged spell of wintry weather for decades.

And we had targeted one of the highest pubs and restaurants in the Huddersfield area as our destination on a Saturday evening.

The Foxhouse on Penistone Road is hundreds of metres above Holmfirth.

The actual address is Hepworth but it lies a couple of miles beyond Hade Edge.

With snow and ice laying deep on the fields, it could have been a desolate, unwelcoming place.

We need not have worried. We put our trust in Kirklees Council gritting crews to have the roads cleared and an assurance from the pub staff that there was “only a bit of snow” on the road.

So it proved. The journey was plain sailing all the way, although I have to admit that the sight of snow piled several feet high on the roadside was a little disconcerting, especially if the weather changed.

And it was a journey well worth making.

People say you need comfort food at certain times and after days of misery caused by endless freezing temperatures and the daily battle with snow and ice to get to work and back The Foxhouse provided just what we needed.

It’s not pretentious and not expensive – just a well-cooked, hearty meal for four that did not break the bank.

The pub’s chef is Michael Leon Millas, who grew up in his dad’s cafe in Wakefield before entering the pub trade. He has had the Foxhouse for 25 years and has established a reputation for good, homely food.

So much so that even on a bitterly cold night there were a good few customers in the sprawling bars.

It’s a cosy, welcoming place with a real coal fire throwing out heat.

We soon decided on our meals.

Linda and Karin opted for garlic mushrooms and they were as expected – a huge mound of mushrooms in a thick cream sauce.

I chose carrot and coriander soup which was so thick it could have been cut with a knife and came with a herb garnish, while James had a plate piled high with spare ribs in a barbecue sauce.

Main courses continued the theme of food aplenty.

My chicken Italienne was a full breast encased in ham and cheese and served with proper chips and a salad.

Linda picked halibut and was presented with two beautiful fillets the size of a small whale.

Karin had a beef stroganoff with a rich, deep sauce while James battled manfully through most of a steak and ale pie with roast potatoes and three vegetables.

It was a feast which left us too full for dessert but one which had hit exactly the right note on a winter’s night.