The Chequers Inn, Dalton-on-Tees

THE bill at The Chequers provided a slow-burning shock. We paid at the till with a quick swipe of plastic without considering in depth what we were being asked to pay. It was only on the drive home that I began to add things up: we both had starters at £5 each; we both had mains at about £12 each; we both had desserts at £5 each and, between us, we had drinks that came to nearly a tenner.

That's got to be about £50, I thought, so how did they charge us only £41.60? Should I turn round and tell this pub, about five miles south of Darlington, that it was diddling itself?

Instead, when we got home I studied the small purple-print on the bill and discovered that, miraculously, on a busy Saturday night, we'd both qualified for The Chequers' offer of a three course meal for £18 – it hadn't been on the pub's website, nor on the menu, but had, apparently, been advertised on Facebook.

It was shockingly good value.

From a very good-looking gastro-pub menu, I had chosen the black pudding with sausage and poached egg, on a large cruton, as my starter. Although it was covered in a nice mustard sauce, it was really an all-day breakfast stack, and perfectly pleasant.

Over the table, Petra, my wife, had chosen Chef's Whitby Crab, which was served in a little Kilner jar on a thin piece of slate with some herby butter, some greenery and some bread. The Kilner jar was full of nicely-dressed crabmeat, and I longed to have a taste because once, crab was my great favourite. I'd drive to Northumberland for a properly prepared sandwich, but time has caught up with me and now I have a violent reaction whenever I taste it.

"It's really good and light," she said. "You'd have enjoyed it..."

For her main course, she had chosen a Portobello mushroom, spinach and cranberry Wellington, which was all those things and several more – she spoke of a lot of Brie and a hint of clove – wrapped up in light pastry and smothered in an excellent mushroom sauce. It came with a portion of chips and another portion of roast vegetables – onions, baby carrots and green beans. They clearly believe in fattening up their vegetarians at The Chequers, and Petra enjoyed it enormously, but was defeated by the enormity of it all.

I had decided to go for "pulled beef brisket". I've been studying the "pulled meat" phenomenon for the last year or so as it seems to have exploded in popularity in the sandwich market. A Bedale butcher, who has recently started pulled pork, told me that a celebrity chef had been championing the slow-cooking technique, and in the last couple of weeks I've become aware of bus shelter posters advertising new pulled chicken from a Kentucky fast food outlet.

The Chequers' menu was the first time I had seen it offered in a restaurant. It came in a metal bowl – someone at The Chequers has a thing about serving plates with little pots on them – with a red wine sauce over the top. It was delicious, the rich almost treacly taste relieved by a salty sharpness from the pancetta sprinklings.

Just as time has called a halt on my crab-eating days, so I must admit that my gums are now receding practically as fast as my hairline. But pulled brisket comes as long, tangly strands of meat which are an absolute nightmare for those who have gaps where there should be teeth. It was very good, though, and accompanied by roughly-mashed potato and the roasted vegetables, I manfully persevered to the end.

For dessert, Petra had lemon tart with gin-and-tonic sorbet. She was pleased with it, but was disappointed that she couldn't taste any gin in her sorbet – I, though, thought there was more than a hint of juniper to it, so I guess years of soaking her tastebuds in G&T have taken their toll.

Indecisive, I had chosen a trio of desserts: vanilla cheesecake, chocolate torte and a scoop of strawberry and raspberry sorbet which came in its own little dish. The cheesecake was pleasant, although my tastebuds couldn't pick up much vanilla, and I enjoyed the combination of the sharp fruity sorbet and the thickly sweet chocolate.

It was a very good pub meal. What it lacked in terms of refinement or delicacy, it made up for in terms of taste and inventiveness. With friendly service, it was to be heartily recommended.

But then came the shock of the bill, which I think merits my first five-out-of-five for value for money and certainly deserves to be shouted about louder than just on Facebook.

The Chequers Inn, Dalton-on-Tees, near Darlington, DL2 2NT

01325-721213 chequersinndalton.co.uk

Ambience: ***

Food quality: ***

Service: ***

Value for money: *****