Green Man pub in Grantchester, who are well known for good food and good beer), it was the perfect time to try out the new menu.

We entered the pub and spotted several locals at the bar, chatting amongst themselves and to the barmaid. This building has had an alcohol license for almost 200 years; it has a very homely feel, with its dark stone-flagged floors, small coal fireplace, and framed old cigarette boxes dotted around on the cream walls. The left hand side of the pub is the main bar area, with a recessed area towards the back with more tables and a dart board, and a pretty patio garden beyond. The right hand side of the pub is laid out for dining and also has large screens to show the rugby.

The beers on offer were Greene King ales such as IPA and XX Mild, plus St Peter's Best Bitter and a Belhaven beer. But the fridge containing the bottled beer is worth a visit alone, with beers from local breweries such as Draycott, and further afield such as Brewdog in Scotland. There are also bottles available from the Netherlands, Germany and the USA. I chose a Marble Dobber, a fruity IPA from Manchester, and we sat at the round table in the window of the main bar where everybody was situated.

The Clarendon prides itself on the fact that the food is home-made and locally sourced, with high quality yet reasonably priced meals. The main menu offers proper pub grub with a twist, such as sides and starters including olives, ciabatta and oil (£3), hand-cut triple-cooked chips (£2.50) and whitebait with bread & butter (£5.45). Mains include steak and stilton hot pot (£8.50), beer battered haddock and chips (£8.45) and pork and apricot sausages and mash (£7.95). We opted for the vegetable winter stew with potato dumplings (£7), plus a side of the hand-cut triple-cooked chips.

The food arrived promptly, and the steaming hot stew was very welcome on this cold winter evening. The flavoursome dumplings were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and the vegetables (parsnips, carrots, broccoli and mushrooms) were perfectly cooked in a tasty, rich mushroom gravy. When the chips were brought out, one of the locals commented that they were 'the biggest chips I have ever seen'! He wasn't wrong. You get a lot of chunky chips for your money here, and they were full of flavour and fantastic to nibble on between mouthfuls of hearty stew.

We took a look at the dessert menu, and after a recommendation from the bar manager we went for the chocolate orange brownie: 'it's like eating a Terry's Chocolate Orange' he told me. It came with soft vanilla ice cream and a dark chocolate and orange slice, and was very rich and everything a chocolate orange brownie should be.

Feeling very full but satisfied, we finished our drinks and left the banter of the locals behind.

The Clarendon Arms is a lovely pub with good food and interesting beers. The staff are very courteous and professional, and have high hopes for this pub, plus the locals are real characters. If you want a proper pub with a great atmosphere (and there aren't many of these sort of pubs left anymore) then head over to the Kite area and pay the Clarendon Arms a visit.