BY the time Sunday evening comes around we usually can’t be bothered to cook, so it’s either a matter of throwing a pizza in the oven or eating out somewhere locally.

The prospect of another pizza wasn’t too appealing so we headed for the Cobb Arms on Lyme Regis seafront and met some friends there for an impromptu gathering.

Food is served there for most of the day, so it’s convenient if you want a late lunch or an early dinner.

Fish dishes include breaded wholetail scampi and battered cod (both £8.95), and among the meat dishes are Cumberland jumbo sausage (£8.75) and chicken tikka masala (£8.95).

On the vegetarian menu were dishes including spinach and ricotta cannelloni and tuna pasta bake (both £8.50), and the children’s menu included fish fingers and sausages.

For lighter appetites there were ploughmans, salads and jacket potatoes.

The specials board was impressive and included a medley of prawns (£6.75), beef in red wine (£9.50), and whole grilled sardines (£8.50).

I chose the steak and ale pie with chips and peas, but potatoes and vegetables were also available.

It arrived with an appetising pastry lid, which was buttery and flaky, and inside were chunks of deliciously tender steak, with a hint of Palmers ale in the sauce.

My friend had the beef lasagne, which arrived with a bubbling cheese top and sauce oozing out of the sides.

Her progress was slow, as it was still piping hot, but she enjoyed every mouthful.

My husband and our friend both chose barbecue ribs, a full rack of ribs served with chips or jacket potato, peas, salad and onion rings.

This meal is not for the faint hearted!

There was plenty of meat on the ribs, which was tender and easy to strip off the bone, and the sauce was tangy and tasty.

All the portions at the Cobb Arms are generous and we were all satisfyingly full at the end of our meals.

Dessert would have just tipped us over the edge, so we plumped for another glass of wine instead!

The Bill

Steak and ale pie: £9.50

Barbecue ribs: £9.95

Drinks: £10.65

TOTAL: £30.10