Every month the Gazette’s Pub Spy will visit a different pub and deliver his verdict. This month he went to The Salutation Inn in Ham near Berkeley.

LIKE The Old Spot in Dursley, The Salutation Inn – or The Sally, as it is more commonly known – once wore CAMRA’s prestigious Pub of the Year crown.

In fact, the small village pub in Ham, just down the road from Berkeley, picked up the title only last year, so when I entered in my capacity as pub spy it had lofty expectations to uphold.

The miraculous little pub was, to my distinct lack of surprise, entirely successful in this challenge, not only living up to those high expectations but soaring far beyond them.

I must start by explaining The Sally’s menu, which is a delight. It contains three options for lunch: ham, egg and chips; a cheese ploughman’s; and the third dish – which changes daily based on seasonal vegetables and which locally-sourced meats are available (rarely does anything served in the Sally travel more than 30 miles to reach your plate).

The simplicity of this beautiful menu is what makes it. By choosing not to offer a sprawling list of options spanning several pages, the staff are able to pour their hearts and souls into the available small selection. The straightforward ham egg and chips, for example, comprises only the best ingredients from the county and is cooked with a level of expertise and care which is far from commonplace in pub kitchens.

And it's far from expensive; most of the meals hover somewhere around the £10 mark, which is exceptional considering the standard of the food.

The third dish on the day of my review was a pork chop in BBQ sauce with homemade chips, with one important detail: the pork used in the chop was taken from meat produced by The Sally’s own pigs, which are reared within several yards of where they are consumed. It was an option I was unable to resist.

It is not just this uniqueness of experience that makes the Sally stand out. After all, meat that is locally sourced and of the highest quality doesn’t mean much in the hands of an incapable chef. Fortunately, however, this is not a problem the award-winning pub faces, and the innovative and exciting dishes produced in the kitchen are not just restaurant quality but Masterchef-level efforts.

The pork was a thing of beauty, with a long strip of extra-crispy crackling perched across the top. Even the simple side-order of chips are made masterful when prepared in the Sally’s kitchen.

Like most meals at the Sally, the dish was instantaneously catapulted into my mental list of all time favourites.

To drink, I ordered a pint of Schiehallion, a craft lager which is as crisp as it is dry and airy. A perfect fruity drink to cut through the smoky barbecue flavour of the meal.

The service is excellent, with drinkers and diners often served by the landlord himself, Peter Tiley, or one of his friendly and helpful staff, all of whom seem to possess a good knowledge of the food and drink they serve.

All in all this cosy village pub pack a punch so strong its name could not be contained by its humble countryside surroundings. One thing my little visit to the Sally taught me is that CAMRA may know a thing or two about pubs.

SCORES

Atmosphere: 9/10

Decor: 9/10

Staff: 10/10

Drink: 10/10

Food: 10/10

Prices: 10/10

Overall: 10/10