I have been a regular reviewer at The Mill at Sonning Dinner Theatre since the start of its second season, as long ago as April 1983, when I enjoyed a gripping production of Ira Levin’s Deathtrap, which was recently revived in the West End.

My Mill reviews, however, have hitherto been concerned only with the offering on the stage rather than the meal in the adjoining restaurant that has always preceded it.

Always preceded it for me, that is. In the first season, the three-course dinner was served after the show, beginning at around 10pm. This must have made it a very late night for punters — presumably why things were changed. Now the meal is from 6.30pm till 8pm (12.30-2pm for matinées).

My general routine is to arrive just before 7pm in time for a dry sherry — sometimes on the outdoor terrace overlooking the mill stream (flour was milled at this ancient building until 1969), sometimes inside where the giant mill wheels still turn. At the bar, you can also order bottles of wine to be served in the restaurant. The Chilean cabernet sauvignon (Lui Felipe Edwards Lot 40), at £3.50 a glass, is our usual choice — and was last Thursday.

As at a formal dinner, the seating arrangements in the restaurant are announced on a board displayed in the foyer. You note your number, which you give to a waiter who escorts you to your table after you have helped yourself to food in the servery area on the first floor of the building. Actually, been helped to food, in the case of the primary ingredient of the main course; kitchen staff stand at the entrance to dispense it. The method of service precludes the provision of starters, but this is is hardly a problem in view of the generous size of the main courses.

There are four to choose from at present, with a delicious roast gammon and redcurrant jelly (I tried it earlier in the year) added on Saturday evenings only.

As usual, one features chicken breast (stuffed with Philadelphia cheese and herbs and wrapped in bacon) and one is vegetarian (tomato and basil flan). Also omnipresent (and woe betide them if this changes, says Rosemarie) is the steak and Guinness pie.

Almost invariably, this is ordered by my companion, and was on this occasion, being praised as ever for the tenderness of the meat, the richness of the gravy and the excellence of the pastry. Portions are cut from very large pies which are classically constructed — that is, with filling and topping cooked together, rather than being prepared separately and later united, as is sometimes the case elsewhere.

My choice was a Mill dish new, I think, to chef Wayne Hawes’s repertoire, or at any rate previously untried by me. This was a casserole of pork chunks, surprisingly fiery rounds of chorizo and cannellini beans. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The real delight here, though, is the great range of vegetables to which you help yourself: tonight there were Lyonnaise potatoes (parboiled and sautéed), new potatoes with chives, minted broad beans and peas, cauliflower and spinach, red cabbage with vinegar and sultanas, and a mixed leaf salad. All were perfectly cooked, (except of course for the salad).

Puddings are ordered from the waiting staff and brought to one’s table. In the past, though it has not been on the menu, the kitchen has always obliged me with fresh fruit, usually a sliced apple and orange. On this visit I was pleased to find a fruit salad generally available for those who didn’t fancy lemon and lime cheese cake or the stodge of bread and butter putting (another dish invariably offered). It included apple, strawberries, grapes and bananas, and was very good.

Then I shared Rosemarie’s cheese and biscuits, with a tangy home-made chutney. There were generous chunks of a very good cheddar, Stilton and a tasty white cheese containing dried apricots. With our young waiter unsure of its name, it was down to general manager David Vass to supply the answer when I asked him: this was white Stilton — a new favourite for me.

A final word about pricing: all this food, plus the play, can be enjoyed for as little as £37.50 at matinées, rising to £48 on Saturday night. Theatre boss Sally Hughes has pledged to hold these prices throughout next year. When you consider that a ticket cost £15.50 at the opening nearly 30 years ago, I think you will agree this represents extremely good value.