I'd driven past The Greyhound hundreds of times on my way to work, but never been in.

I'd always thought it was a family chain-type pub and might be noisy or run of the mill, but when we turned up, toddler in tow, I found this wasn't the case at all.

Four miles outside Oxford on the A420, the Greyhound is an attractive building made of Cotswold stone, with a large car park and a pretty garden laid out with tables.

As we entered I also noticed a children's play area at the rear. While the outside is traditional, the inside is modern, yet cosy.

Stone floors are accompanied by comfortable chairs, lots of natural materials and a warming maroon colour scheme.

As you'd expect on a Friday lunchtime, the bulk of the diners seemed to be business people, plus couples. We were the only diners with a child, but this didn't seem to be a problem - a pack containing crayons, puzzles and colouring was given to our toddler.

The Greyhound has an extensive menu made up of traditional fayre, with a Mediterranean influence. Starters include avocado and crispy bacon salad (£5.50), moules marinère (£6.95) and mushrooms in Roquefort sauce (£5.95).

And while the main menu ranges from matured steaks to pies and their speciality - spare ribs - the Light Bites menu offers slightly less filling dishes. All this, plus a daily specials board, made choosing pretty difficult.

WHAT DID YOU CHOOSE?

I eventually went for crayfish and lemon risotto from the Light Bites menu and my guest chose the Famous Spare Ribs, in a tangy BBQ sauce with fries and coleslaw for £14.45 (diners with an American-sized appetite can opt for the large size at £16.95) The children's menu was pretty impressive too - and not a chicken nugget in sight.

Most of the meals are served with mashed potato, jacket potato or fries, and a choice of fresh vegetables baked beans or salad. All meals include dessert.

We picked cod fillet fish-fingers with chips and vegetables, but we also could have had pasta, sausages and mash, cottage pie or a burger - and of course ribs!

WHAT DID YOU THINK?

The food arrived pretty quickly. My guest said his ribs were delicious and if the amount of sauce he had around his face was anything to go by, he was telling the truth.

Our little one also seemed pretty amazed by her meal. It was huge - about four times the amount she would usually eat for lunch, but it was possibly the best children's meal we had ever come across.

Instead of bog-standard fishfingers, she had three fish fillets that had been battered in-house.

The veg was also well cooked, and she tucked in to the chips like her life depended on it.

She couldn't finish it, of course - but she had a pretty good go!

My risotto was fabulous: lots of chunks of crayfish, large flakes of melting cheese and the rice was just the right consistency.

My only complaint was that I couldn't finish it, as it was just so gorgeously rich.

For pudding, our little one lapped up a dish of bananas and custard. But we adults were too full for pudding, which was a shame as I had watched diners nearby demolishing huge dishes of cheesecake and sticky toffee pudding.

Maybe I'll start with pudding on my next visit.