Living in Walton-Le-Dale, going to school in Bamber Bridge, and having friends in Hoghton meant The Hospital Inn was somewhere I used to frequent in my younger days, but it had been a long time since I’d last visited. So when I needed somewhere between Penwortham and Chorley for my friend Tanya and I to meet on a Tuesday night it was the Brindle Road pub we chose.

Tanya tends to cancel on me (she knows I expect this) so when we do makes plans, a venue where we don’t need to book is preferable and I was reminded of The Hospital Inn by fellow Blog Preston reviewer Karen. Originally meeting the night before, Tanya’s “don’t hate me…” message (eyeroll) on Monday afternoon meant another rain check but only a 24 hour one and as I pulled into the car park there she was, phew!

We went inside and the memories came flooding back of pub quiz fun, the buzzing atmosphere and sitting in the raised corner with my friends. The pub wasn’t ‘buzzing’ quite so much now but did feel quite cosy. There were a couple of other tables taken and some people playing pool on the other side of the bar.

We were shown to our table, handed some menus, and ordered drinks. It was a rock and roll Tuesday night with a coke for Tanya and an orange squash for me. I always get the Michael extracted out of me for having orange squash, but it quenches the thirst. Leave me be.

It took us a while and two staff visits before we were ready to order food as the menu includes pub classics, burgers, pizzas, salads, sizzlers, specials… so it was a tough choice. Tanya decided on Halloumi Fries (£7.95) to start and Chicken Curry of the Day (£15) for main. I went for the Black Pudding Stack (£6.95) and the Steak Pudding (£15), both off the specials menu. A special night for me.

The food arrived really quickly, and we weren’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. Tanya thought her halloumi would be greasy but said it had a nice crunch and was really good. My starter, although tasty, was just a bit too much. There was a lot of black pudding and too many peppercorns in a sauce that slightly drowned the dish. As we were chatting, it only dawned on me that I’d noticed myself chewing on peppercorns quite a few times and as we carried on chatting, I started to sound very nasally. “What’s going on Lou, was it all those peppercorns?” Tanya asked having noticed the change in my tone. I went to the toilet to blow my nose. On my return to the table, I finished my big savoury starter and wondered how I’d eat my main.

Our plates were taken, and we didn’t get much of a break before our mains arrived. I for one, could have done with a bigger break after the starter but I dug into my homemade steak pudding which was full of lovely big chunks of steak and rich, delicious gravy. Yum. I was happy with my choice and so was Tanya who enjoyed her chicken curry. I realised when doing this write up that I didn’t know what curry it actually was, so I texted Tanya to which I got the response “Chicken.” I worded my question slightly differently and then received “Erm chicken, with onion peppers and tomatoes (three rolling around laughing emojis).” I’m pretty certain she wasn’t rolling around on the floor laughing but the conclusion is, we don’t know what the curry was, but it was pleasant, tasted homecooked and had a nice flavour so it’s all good.

We were both absolutely stuffed with no room for dessert (I hate it when that happens) and I had started to feel more effects of the reaction, which was probably made worse by adding steak and suet into the rich mix. We had another drink and kept chatting for a while.

The total came to £54.30; we were given the club price for the curry, and we had five soft drinks between us. The service was friendly and fast, maybe a little too fast as we did feel a little rushed. We were told around 9pm that the pub was closing in half an hour and looking around noticed we were the only ones left. Sad to see as it really is a great little place and we thought the food was tasty pub grub; a sign of the times I guess.

I would visit The Hospital Inn again but order differently as I wouldn’t want to end up in an actual hospital from peppercorn overload. To confirm, it was no fault of the pub, I wasn’t aware I had some sort of intolerance to pepper, I am now.

Have you ever stumbled upon an allergy or intolerance you didn’t know about when dining out? Share your story below.

Read more: All of Louise’s reviews

Subscribe: Keep in touch directly with the latest headlines from Blog Preston, join our WhatsApp channel and subscribe for our twice-a-week email newsletter. Both free and direct to your phone and inbox.

Read more: See the latest Preston news and headlines