LOOK at this pub’s website gallery and you’ll see a picture of the Queen gliding past in a Rolls Royce during her March visit to open the rebuilt RSC Theatre.

Other pictures showing staff happily handing out food samples to members of the public waiting for the drive past illustrate how this eatery isn’t content to rest on its laurels.

Too many pubs look like uninviting places, especially for families.

It’s no surprise when they go to the wall and good riddance.

But the Encore, once a middling Beefeater, is different.

Well fitted out in a semi-rustic style by parent company M&B, it’s up-market to a degree, but not in an off-putting way.

Just relaxed and friendly – as all pubs should be. There’s a mix of tables and a private dining area in one of the upstairs rooms, too.

Downstairs, the staff willingly accommodated us at an off-peak time by kindly pushing two tables together to give us more space.

Because we didn’t have long to make the most of our visit in a place with above-average prices, we made a guerrilla-style attack on the menu, ordering a mixture of starters and mains to be shared.

Even so, the bill still came to £52.10 for five.