A great dinner was no trouble at the Mill

Even in the dark, the outside lighting at the waterside former mill makes for an impressive spectacle .

And indoors it is an absolute knockout - modern, contemporary styling, but in character with a centuries old building.

Take a look inside and see for yourself.

But would the food match up? Happily, yes.

Brampton Mill falls under the Mitchells and Butlers Country Inns brand. The menu is what you might call gastropub, and certainly our menu choices fell into that bracket.

A nice start for Donna – a very tasty sweet and packed chilli king prawn roll, with vegetables wrapped in rice paper and served with a sweet chilli and soy dip (£6.95).

It was a decent size, and the same can be said for my salt and szechuan pepper squid (£6.95). Lovely blasts of salt and pepper, light, non-greasy coating with a little bit of crunch.

My main course (£18.50) might as well have had my name on it. Roast pork belly that was an absolute treat - soft, succulent meat with an unmistakeable taste - and a little bit of crackling for good measure. The dauphinoise potatoes were soft and creamy, the green beans (indeed all the vegetables on the table) were perfect, I liked the idea of the toasted almonds sprinkled on top and the red wine jus was rich and moreish. Three scallops was more than I could have wished for - my one grumble was that they were a little under for me; I like a bit of caramelisation for colour, texture and flavour.

From the vegan menu Donna had a rocket-covered caramelised onion tart - filled with roasted red peppers and lentils and packed with flavour, served with pesto. The side order of tenderstem broccoli, asparagus and green beans in a soy glaze was spectacular.

Cheesecake and cheeseboard (more crackers please) rounded things off nicely. Which left one nagging question: Just how nice will it be in daylight?

Brad Barnes dines at the newly refurbished Brampton Mill in Brampton near Huntingdon.

Brad’s rating: 9