It's the meal that outshines the rest...yes, it’s the glorious Sunday lunch.

But as many of you will no doubt agree, it is sadly sometimes a let down when it comes to restaurants and pubs.

The meat is dry, the gravy too watery or the veg is over-cooked.

My personal main gripe is the roast potatoes, which are almost without exception, usually underdone amid the pressure to dish up to the hordes of impatient customers.

That, I am pleased to say, was not the case when we popped into the Airedale Heifer, tucked away on Stocks Bank Road in Mirfield.

It was the pictures on a well known travel review site that had prompted us to choose the Battyeford boozer over other more well known restaurants in WF14.

But unlike many burger chains I can happily report that the generous roast dinner was almost identical to what I saw online.

This pub deserves a special mention as the whole experience from walking in to walking out exceeded our expectations.

As we arrived by foot from t’other side of Mirfield, thirsty for a pint and anxious for a table, we were delighted to find a nicely decorated and comfortable pub, with some decent ales and a nice relaxed ambience.

We were welcomed by a trio of cheerful and attentive staff who were happy for the other half to try a taste of a beer she didn’t know before committing to a full half pint.

Despite being a touch earlier than the official 1pm lunch start time, our order of roast lamb all round was taken with no fuss, arriving no more than 15 minutes later.

A waitress offered us olives and bread while we waited, which we politely declined, but logged in our memory banks for next time.

A full football team and a baby shower were being catered for on the other side of the pub near the pool tables, but this did nothing to detract from the service.

We were offered sauces and brought cutlery ahead of the hot steaming plates of succulent meat, potatoes and importantly, a decent home-made Yorkshire pudding.

We were also impressed to get our own individual jugs of piping hot thick gravy, as everyone likes to control their own gravy dosage don’t they?

Between the three of us dining, two accompanying pots of vegetables were brought which featured a nice range of perfectly cooked carrots, green beans, mange tout, broccoli and cauliflower.

As a keen cook myself I can say it’s no mean feat getting all those different veggies done right – so hats off to the chef and owner Craig Powell and his other half Robyn Pogson.

Three large slices of lamb seemed like a fair portion for the price – a mere £9.50 for two courses – and I suspect four would have been too much.

Many places shoot themselves in the foot by serving you such a big dinner that you can’t face dessert.

This was not the case here and while I was comfortably full I was keen to try one of the three desserts on offer – a gently warmed homemade chocolate brownie with chocolate fudge sauce and ice cream.

I can report to chef Craig that this sealed the deal for me as I hate it when puddings are microwaved to a thousand degrees, vanquishing them of all flavour and putting you at risk of burning your tongue.

Along with the optimal temperature, the brownie definitely was “homemade”, whether that was in house or by another local firm, and was lovely. Not too rich, not too bitter and not too sweet.

The scoop of ice-cream could be dubbed “artisan” and the fudge sauce was also nice and gooey and not hotter than the surface of the sun.

My satisfaction was complete when I went to the men’s toilet expecting the usual eye-sore and found a nicely tiled pleasant bathroom.

If you like a lot of choice the Airedale’s menu is more limited than some, but as celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay always tells chefs, it’s better to do a few things well than provide hundreds of choices.

That mantra is clearly being followed here by Craig and his missus Robyn, who share cooking duties, having taken over and refurbished the pub last year.

And if you’re not here to eat, the Airedale is also very much focused on quality beers too.

So much so that they were recently awarded winner of the Best Pub of the Season by the Campaign For Real Ale.

It’s a tough market for pubs in Mirfield as there’s certainly no shortage of choice wherever you are.

But as with any industry, competition drives up standards and it’s pretty clear The Airedale has claimed the town’s unofficial crown (or official if you look at that well known travel review site!).