'The best pub in Birmingham'. It's quite the accolade.
Our city is packed with brilliant ones, after all - from historic boozers to quirky ale houses and award-winning gastropubs. But the best of them all, according to Tripadvisor at least, is Greene King-owned, situated five miles outside of the city centre.
With over 650 reviews, the Old House at Home in Harborne is Birmingham's most highly-rated pub on the site. You might expect an establishment of such a high calibre to have sky-high menu prices to match, an extensive wine list, perhaps, and the kind of posh décor that makes you too scared to touch anything.
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But the Old House at Home is, to most people, just your average local pub - a dining area on one side and a bar on the other, sport playing on the telly and a pint of Carling costs you less than £4. It's family-friendly - there's even a Wacky Warehouse soft play centre out the back - and the carvery is open seven days a week, which, on a weekday, costs as little as £5.79.
As we pulled into the car park, I was suddenly certain I'd been here before. I was having flashbacks to Wacky Warehouse parties from my childhood and hazy memories of the odd family dinner in the pub. I imagined it must have changed a lot since.
We could smell the carvery when we stepped out of the car and our bellies were rumbling. As we opened the door to the pub, there was a blare of noise. It was a Friday night and the pub was busy. Tables, set over three levels, were filled with chatting families with children and we could hear the buzz from the bar.
The pub looked different to how I remembered it and had definitely had a refurb since my last visit, but the atmosphere was the same. We were trying to sneak a closer look at the carvery, most of which was hidden under metal lids, when a friendly staff member with a pencil wedged behind her ear came over and showed us to our table.
As if she knew we hadn't been there before (not for years anyway), she talked us through how to order at the bar and left us with a smile to browse the menu. We were feeling pretty hungry, so went for two regular-sized carveries (one meat and one vegetarian - both £7.99), a large glass of Sauvignon Blanc and a pint of Peroni - £27.72 in total. There was a full menu as well, featuring pub classics like fish and chips, steaks, curries and burgers.
As we sat, enjoying our drinks and people-watching, we quickly realised the smiley barwoman had definitely known we were new here, because she seemed to be on a first-name basis with half of the punters. She flitted between tables, chit-chatting and checking everyone was enjoying their meals. But it wasn't the type of locals' pub that makes you feel unwelcome.
We chose our opportunity when there was no one queuing to head up to the carvery, tickets in-hand. My boyfriend chose turkey and beef over pork and mine came with a beetroot, sweet potato and butternut squash tart. We both accepted the offer of a huge Yorkshire pudding on a scalding-hot plate and helped ourselves to veg.
I piled on mash and roasters, parsnips, carrots, a few sprouts, creamy leeks and some very dark-looking cabbage. I poured over the thick vegetarian gravy, fishing out the onions to dollop on top.
Back at the table, we dug in. My first forkful was mash - it was thick, smooth and buttery and I instantly regretted not getting a second spoonful. The roasters were crispy - some to the point that there didn't seem to be much potato inside - but the big ones were perfectly fluffy in the centre.
My past experience of carveries is that the veg is often too hard or mushy, but these carrots had the right amount of crunch and the parsnips were sweet and soft and charred on the edges. I wasn't sure what to expect from the purple-black cabbage but it was deliciously salty and full of flavour - probably the best thing on my plate, alongside the mash. The Yorkshire was nice, though I'd have liked it crispier, and the onion-y gravy was the stuff vegetarians dream of.
The only downsides - the sprouts were slightly overcooked and the creamy leeks, which I had high hopes for, were strangely chewy. I wasn't a fan of the pie either. The flavour was odd, I thought, although I don't much like beetroot anyway. Thankfully I had enough food heaped onto my plate that I didn't need it.
My boyfriend was equally impressed by his. He said the turkey was moist and the beef beautifully tender. His only gripe was that he'd only been given one slice of each.
We'd just finished stuffing our faces when two paramedics walked in and rushed round to the other side of the bar. We gave each a concerned look.
A few minutes later, much to our amusement, the two ambulance workers reappeared and joined the queue at the carvery. They packed their takeaway containers full. One of them, I noticed, had an extra big helping of purple cabbage and doused the lot in onion gravy. She'd obviously been here before.
The Old House at Home isn't extraordinary. It's a humble, no frills pub. But it's the perfect example of what most Brummies look for in a good local boozer - decent grub, fairly-priced drinks and staff that treat you like family. It felt like home and I can see why people love it.
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