The lofty rural location of The New Hobbit Hotel near Sowerby Bridge takes some beating.

Affording spectacular views over the Calder Valley, the traditional stone building on Hob Lane nestles snugly into the hillside, just like a hobbit house, but with square rather than round windows. On a clear summer’s day there’s nowhere finer to enjoy an al fresco drink while communing with some of West Yorkshire’s finest countryside.

In the middle of winter, however, it’s best to scuttle straight from car park to bar without stopping to take in the sights – and then grab a window seat. Which is pretty much what we did on a chilly Tuesday evening.

Lured by Trip Advisor’s promises of ‘absolutely beautiful’ and ‘very good’ food, we’d decided to revisit a hostelry that was once a family favourite. Back in the days when the venue was just The Hobbit we frequently enjoyed a roast Sunday lunch or home-baked pies with dripping-fried chips while admiring the custom-woven carpet with its miniature hobbits.

But The New Hobbit is quite a different creature. It’s interior is now slick and contemporary, with a pastel green and neutrals colour scheme, tartan banquettes and a much lighter and airier feel. It looks welcoming and relaxing, no longer quirky and themed.

Interior shot of The New Hobbit Hotel, Sowerby Bridge

Over a half of Slightly Foxed (what else would Stelfoxs drink?) we perused the menu – a collection of the usual pub food suspects and reminiscent of the standardised menus in pub chains. Burgers, pasta, steak, fish and chips, curry, a Middle Eastern dish, steak and ale pie etc. Eclectic enough to suggest that this is an establishment attempting to cater for all tastes rather than picking its own niche. But it does claim that it sources its food locally, which has to be a plus.

Years of dining out have taught me that when eating pub food it’s always best to choose the more traditional dishes. As the Man-in-Charge has pointed out before, when I go off-piste and pick the vegetarian special, or the single item on the menu with pretensions, then I usually come a cropper. And, I reminded myself, if I wanted a curry I would be better going to one of the many nearby Asian restaurants.

So I plumped for a Hobbit burger (£9.95), himself chose fish and chips (£11.95), and Secondborn selected a sirloin steak and fat chips (£14.95). For starters my daughter and I shared a mezze board (£9.95) and The Man went for a lamb kofta (£5.45).

With another half of Slightly Foxed (£1.60 a go) under our belts we tucked into our starters.

I’ve had a few mezze boards in my time and ours was on the basic side – it had a few strips of pitta and naan bread, alongside small pots of houmous, tzatziki, olives and olive oil. I thought it didn’t look much for nearly a tenner and it could have been easily improved with a chunk or two of focaccia (for dipping in the olive oil) and maybe a sun-blush tomato or three. But the tzatziki and houmous were tasty enough. The lamb kofta was pronounced satisfactory, although the accompanying side salad lacked dressing. I noticed, however, that the Man-in-Charge produced a clean plate.

He also managed to clear his plate of the fish and chips, complaining only that the batter lacked seasoning. The fish, he said, was well cooked.

Secondborn’s steak was tender, sizeable, and cooked medium rare as she requested. The peppercorn sauce, however, proved to be lacklustre and lacking in actual peppercorns. Having said that, I noticed that she too cleared her plate. They’d been on a long dog walk that day and were very hungry.

And so, as usual, it was my good self who had made the poorest choice. The burger, which arrived on a wooden platter, turned out to be over-cooked and dried-up. It came in a thin bun and was sat on a single lettuce leaf and had been topped with a few slivers of raw red onion. I was asked if I’d like sauce and, without a generous squirt of tomato ketchup, I think the burger would have been pretty much inedible.

Hobbit burger at The New Hobit

The only saving grace was the pot of French fries, which had been seasoned properly, and a helping of homemade coleslaw that was fresh and crunchy. And the whole lot was served up by a friendly, cheerful waitress.

We held a family conference on the way home in the car and it was agreed that the food had been ‘all right’. Perhaps we would have fared better booking a Sunday carvery lunch – the Trip Advisor reviewers rave about it. The Hobbit of old had a fearsome reputation for its Sunday lunches and giant Yorkshire puddings.

The food on the daily menu at The New Hobbit Hotel, however, doesn’t quite match the quality of the premises. Someone has clearly been investing a lot of time and money in the place and with such a unique and picturesque location it could easily become a fine dining venue. Yet there’s been a decision made to opt for basic pub food, not even gastro pub food, which is a terrible shame and a wasted opportunity.

The New Hobbit

Hob Lane, Sowerby Bridge, HX6 3QL

Phone: 01422 316231

Website: www.newhobbit.co.uk

Opening hours: Food times: From 5pm to 8.45pm Monday to Friday, noon to 8.45pm on Saturday, and noon until 6.45pm on Sunday (carvery).

Children: Children and dog friendly

Disabled access: Disabled access through a rear door and ramp

The bill: £60.40 for three, including drinks

Would you go back? Yes