The must-visit country dining pub a 25-minute drive from Bristol city centre

A weekday lunchtime at The Elm Tree and the serious issues of the day are being discussed by the regulars. Forget the rising mortgage rates, dwindling pensions, looming recession and threat of a nuclear war - the talk in this bar is all about vermin.

Or deer, to be precise, for it seems the local Bambi and its chums have been playing havoc in the well-tended vegetable patches around this rural part of Hanham.

“I had some lovely carrots and parsnips,” sighed one crestfallen chap, gazing contemplatively into his large glass of red wine. “But the bloody deer got into the garden and ate them all,” murmured Brian. “And they had the strawberries - they’ll eat anything … I’m putting my broad beans in the glass house now.”

Next to a field of plump sheep grazing alongside a road that leads to Friends of Avon Valley Woodlands and the River Avon, it’s hard to believe The Elm Tree is only a 25-minute drive from Bristol city centre.

Jamie and Theresa Mildren have been running the place for the past two decades and they have clearly made their mark at this detached stone-built pub.

On a Wednesday lunchtime, there were a surprising number of customers considering this is a tucked away pub a long way from Hanham High Street. A one-room pub with a central woodburner, there are scrubbed pine farmhouse tables, dark wood ‘wheelback’ chairs and a checkered carpet.

On the swirly white Artex walls, framed black and white photos of Hollywood icons - Audrey Hepburn, James Dean, Steve McQueen, they’re all there - share space with vintage film posters including Casablanca and North By Northwest.

There’s a simple range of draught beers and ciders including Bath Ales Gem, St Austell Tribute, Guinness, Birra Moretti, Amstel, Foster’s, Thatcher’s Gold and Thatcher’s Dry.

Bottled drinks include Just Pressed Blindside cider, made in the Cotswolds by Gloucester and Italy rugby star Jake Polledri.

But it’s the food that seems to be the main draw here, with ‘reserved’ signs on many of the tables when I visited.

There are two menus on offer at lunchtime, a selection of pocket-friendly ‘light bites’ or the full-blown a la carte for those with larger appetites, and perhaps, healthier bank balances.

Choices on the ‘light bites’ menu include ciabattas with chips (from £6.50), filled baked jacket potatoes (from £5.95) and paninis (from £5.50), as well as pub classics like home-cooked Wiltshire ham, egg, triple cooked chips and peas for £7.95.

They also do a ‘locally made’ faggot with triple cooked chips, gravy and peas - you don’t see those on pub menus very often. Jump over to the main menu and there are burgers, fish and chips, homemade macaroni cheese, a roast beef ploughman’s and sirloin steak with all the usual trimmings.

I went for the slow-braised beef brisket chilli with boiled rice, sour cream and pickled jalapeños (£12.95). Rich and spicy with tender pieces of meat that collapsed on contact with the fork, it was a seriously good chilli with plenty of heat. I really want that recipe.

“The fish and chips was very good but I’m rather envious of that gentleman’s chilli now,” gestured the woman on the next table as she got up to pay the bill.

I’m sure she’ll be back soon to order one for herself. As for my own return visit - a trip back to The Elm Tree can’t come soon enough.

A well-run country pub restaurant a short hop from the city - what more do you need this autumn?

And if there’s fresh local venison on the menu next time, I’ll have a fair idea where that deer came from, Brian.

The Elm Tree, 74 Abbots Road, Hanham, Bristol, BS15 3NR. Tel: 0117 9675193.