IT HAD been almost six years since I’d ventured into the hinterland by the River Swale occupied by Maunby. It’s a nice little place, midway between Northallerton and Thirsk, and lucky enough for a village its size to still have a good pub. The clank of quoits no doubt forms a pleasant soundtrack for summer evening drinking outdoors.

But this was a cold, spring Friday night, and a good fire was far more comforting than any nostalgia for warmer seasons.

The pub has been through at least one fresh pair of hands since that last visit, and it must be made clear that this assessment is an early judgement on a work in progress – only after we’d visited did we discover that it had very recently changed hands again.

In February, new owners Jem Jarvis and business partner Dave Russell took over from Matthew Roath and Sammy Clark, who’d earned so many plaudits building up the Buck’s reputation.

It might be considered a little unfair to pass judgement so early in their tenure, but on the basis of what we saw that night, they are very much on the right track.

A new head chef, Dan Russell, has been recruited from a five-star restaurant in the French Alps and all-new menus have just been launched.

With a warm welcoming hello from the bar, a pint of Snow Wonder from York’s Rudgate Brewery in hand, we took to a fireside sofa from which to peruse our surroundings. Amid the familiar rural pub fixtures and fittings are some authentic artefacts from the pub’s past – framed posters advertising a village quoit competition from the year of Elizabeth’s coronation (Windsor, not Liz the 1st – the pub’s not that old).

The evening a la carte menu then was a simple, single sheet of four starters, five mains and four puds. A handful of specials were chalked up.

We made our choices at a relaxed pace, before being shown through to the restaurant area, which is not quite as cosy or characterful as the rest of the pub.

Anna began with roasted butternut squash soup (£5) which she declared perfectly nice, “but not a wower”.

My wild mushroom and mascarpone pâté, with rocket and parmesan salad (£5.95) provided a more promising start – not too filling, and with a good flavour coming through the pâté, served in a slightly fiddly little Kilner jar. It came without the billed toasted focaccia, mind, but with ordinary brown sliced.

When it came to mains, Anna’s rosemary and garlic marinated rump of lamb with pea puree, roasted red onion and squash in a redcurrant and port sauce (£14.95) was an excellent choice with the depth and complexity of flavour that comes virtue of good quality meat and a tasty marinade.

I opted for a 12oz aged rib eye steak, with watercress and chestnut mushroom salad, “hand-cut twice-cooked” chips (£16.95). This was a good variation on the staple steak-and-chips, with the effort made to introduce some originality in the side salad much appreciated. The chips earned their fancypants billing and were excellent.

When it came to pud, we each went our usual ways – me with my trying-to-be-virtuous-with-fruit option, and my wife embracing chocolate in a big way.

Who am I kidding? The superbly seasonal rhubarb fool with ginger sable biscuits (£5.25) was sumptuously rich, creamy and luxurious in its disdain for healthy eating aspirations. That’s not to say it was either lardy or lumpen, mind.

The rich chocolate tart with pistachio crumb, meringue pearls (£5.75) on the other side of the table was equally beautifully presented – as had been most of the meal – with flair and flourish.

The food overall was generally very good and not bad value at this price point (just under £64 with a pint, a small glass of Malbec and a fizzy water).

If pressed to nit pick further, I might criticise the service as a little inattentive, but this is where we return to our initial caveat about new ownership.

A subsequent conversation with Jem reveals a strong background in customer service (he ran IT systems for the Foreign Office all over the world and was latterly with IBM) and he’s clearly proud of the strong team of local staff he’s built up since our visit.

A permanent line-up of three Yorkshire hand-pulls, a much improved wine list and an emphasis on excellent local produce are other refinements the new owners are keen to highlight – all of which should allow the Buck to rediscover its place towards the front of the dining pub herd hereabouts.

FOOD FACTS

The Buck Inn, Maunby, Thirsk, North Yorkshire, YO7 4HD

Tel: 01845 587777

Website: thebuckinnmaunby.co.uk

Food served: currently Saturday noon-9pm, Sunday noon-6pm, Wednesday-Friday noon-2.30pm, 6-9pm. These are due to be extended soon – check online.

Fine for disabled via a side entrance to restaurant

Ratings (out of ten): Food quality 8, Service 7, Surroundings 7, Value 7