A LUMINARY of the ages, by the name of Aristotle, once said, “One swallow does not a summer make.”

To nab a quote from my favourite comedy of all time, Blackadder Goes Forth, he really was “as clever as a chap with three heads.”

Don’t worry, there is a point to the above ramblings.

I had heard mixed reviews of the eight-week-old Orchard Lounge in Trowbridge, but a few bad apples does not mean one should not dine at said orchard. I fancied a gander at the place.

So, after another week of news had drawn to a close, a handful of the paper’s reporters and I strode to the eatery at lunch time.

Orchard Lounge, which stepped into the shoes of the popular Garden restaurant in early February, hasn’t changed much in the looks department.

A few antiques appear to be new additions but appearance wise, it was akin to someone getting their ears pierced.

You could argue this was a shrewd move because the old place had a good reputation.

Before we had ordered, I was impressed by the swanky and hefty menu, and the venue’s pretty logo. With all this snow we have been having, I think it could have made a handy makeshift toboggan.

Another good sign was that it was fairly busy at 12.30pm. A bad sign was that there appeared to be just two staff to serve all those customers. And that meant a fairly lengthy wait for, well, everything.

When it came to drinks, one work pal won the award for the most glamorous beverage with a chocolate milkshake where the cream was delicately positioned on top of the bottle neck. But the plaudits ended there. “It is like just having a mouthful of cream,” said the work pal.

For the mains, I went for the steak and ale pie with mash and peas (£10.95), which looked pretty darn good.

Two of my work comrades went for the black and blue burger with skinny chips (£9.95 and £2.95 each), two toasties with brie, bacon and cranberry (£6 each) and skinny and chunky chips (£2.95 each).

The chunky chips were excellent. Golden, not too soft or crunchy and a good portion too.

My pie scored a solid 7/10. The meat was tender, the puff pastry was good and the mash was cooked well.

After initially saying they didn’t have any gravy to go with the dish, after five minutes or so the rambunctious waiter brought me an adorable little gravy boat – problem solved.

On the whole, my work pals were impressed by their food, although they agreed it was a little bit too salty.

When we put our heads together, we all agreed that not having chips included in the meals with burgers was a bit cheeky, but such is life.

So in short, the food was good, the service was not the quickest, the place and atmosphere is inviting and chips should be included in more of the meals. This place has potential but a few tweaks need to be made. The food cost £54.65 and the drinks were £10.30. RICHARD MILLS