JUST as I was beginning to think that he might never return and who might blame him, my peace in The Potting Shed was disturbed the other evening by my dear Nigerian friend, Mr Ndabadingi.

After receiving much manly hugging, he proceeded to ask where we might dine that very evening. As I had heard The Green Dragon was under new management, a quick trip downhill seemed entirely appropriate. It's funny you know, uphill Lincoln is exceptionally well-served by some excellent eateries, but rather too many local people forget that there is an exquisite sushi restaurant (Kashi) and a fantastic Italian (La Famiglia) all within spitting distance of the bus station downtown.

While I was keen to experience the changes at The Green Dragon, I was also keen to hear how Clarence had enjoyed his trip home.

Parking in the reduced size car park (some of it has been given away to a new garden area), we entered the lovely beamed building and requested a menu. I was mildly bemused by Clarry's choice of the latest bottled Swedish cider, Koppenberg, in mixed fruit flavour, while I picked a Kiwi fruit J2O topped up with sparkling water as refreshment. We perused the menu and made our selections.

Clarence ordered the creamy garlic mushrooms starter, while I opted for the tomato soup, to be followed by pork belly with vegetables and sausages and mash respectively. As you might imagine, we had a lot to talk about, which occupied most of the time prior to our starters arriving at the table, served on immaculate white rectangular crockery. Clarry's mushroom dish consisted of button variety fungi that had been cooked in a creamy garlic-infused and black pepper sauce.

The constituents sat on a half-sliced baguette and were accompanied by a fresh mixed green leaf and tomato salad. Although he quite likes garlic, he felt that the black pepper was inappropriate (oh, how I have missed his incisive remarks). My tomato soup was served in a shallow round bowl placed on the oblong plate, accompanied by a soft but warm half-baguette and a chunk of fresh salted butter. It was absolutely stunning, being both sweet and lightly herbed and had been clearly made on the premises. We were off to a cracking start.

The mains were delivered in due course, Clarry's slow-cooked pork belly being topped by a Stilton cheese crumble and accompanied by deep-fried and halved new potatoes and a small jug of gravy. My three Lincolnshire pork sausages sat on top of a helping of excellent mashed potato, alongside which was placed a row of carrot batons and some courgette slices, sitting in a rich brown gravy. The pork tasted excellent and was very tender, its topping providing a most complementary extra flavour and texture.

My sausages were thick and of moderately coarse texture, appropriately herbed and well-cooked throughout. The mash was superb, being both buttery and appropriately lumpy but well-cooked. The gravy was also very nice. Not knowing what vegetables came with the dishes, I had also ordered an additional side serving of vegetables, which consisted of more of the carrot batons, a row of broccoli florets and some courgette slices, all of which were buttered and were just about right in consistency for most pub diners, although I felt that slightly less steaming would have been preferable to meet my taste. Yet, they were fresh, sweet and very flavoursome.

For dessert, we made our selection from the Movenpick menu, although our waitress, whom I discovered subsequently is the daughter of the mother and daughter team that now owns the pub, explained that the sweets on the left-hand side of the menu were all home-made.

Clarry picked the lumpy-bumpy caramel and coffee dessert, which was not dissimilar to a tiramisu Italian trifle, albeit coated in caramel, while I chose the home-made fruit crumble with custard. Both were excellent, although Clarry admitted that his dessert was for somebody with a really sweet tooth. My crumble was lovely and, while the accompanying custard was Birds' finest, at least it was a wholesome and decent conclusion to the excellent meal.

We finished our drinks, declined the offer of coffee and headed back uphill to the sanctity of The Potting Shed for a post-prandial snifter apiece. I understand that the new management also owns a pub in Bourne, in the south of the county, so it is well qualified to bring a fresh outlook to The Green Dragon, which I happen to believe is a delightful old inn that is markedly better than the usual brewery-owned theme-pub.

WHERE: The Green Dragon, Broadgate, Lincoln, LN2 5DH, 01522 567155.

THE DAMAGE: Tomato soup – £3.95; creamy garlic mushrooms – £4.95; Lincolnshire sausages and mash – £7.95; pork belly with vegetables – £9.95; side order of vegetables – £2.50; fruit crumble with custard – £4.45; caramel and coffee dessert – £4.95; Koppenberg fruit cider – £3.45; J2O and sparkling water – £1.95

TOTAL: £44.10

FINAL VERDICT: Excellent food, good value, generous portions served by friendly staff in an historical downtown location.