CURSE the council that imposes evening parking charges in a shopping and entertainment area at a time when businesses are struggling.

And doubly curse these pen-pushing nincompoops for pocketing a hefty fine from fools such as me who fail to check the signs on the meters, naively assuming that no local authority would be so mean-spirited and daft as to charge motorists to park in streets that are virtually empty.

But that is what happened when I paid a visit to Solihull on midweek evening when the rain was falling and a cold wind was whistling like some drunken, evil sailor.

Perhaps such charges explain why the Metro Bar and Grill – younger sister of a place of the same name in Birmingham – was so quiet.

Certainly the food and service were of high enough quality to suggest that it ought to have been a whole lot busier.

I started with a Caesar salad – the dressing, leaves and croutons perfectly acceptable, the prawns at the side plump, properly cooked and tasty.

Lynn was pleased with a salad of shredded ham hock, shredded lettuce and Puy lentils.

Oddly, the soup of the day was ham hock and lentil... suggesting, perhaps, a kitchen ready to put to good use left-overs. Good for them.

I progressed to the first game dish I’d eaten so far this autumn.

Tender, bloody slices of venison had a wonderfully high flavour – quite unlike the bland versions of the meat so often served. To counter-act that strength of flavour came a scattering of red currants and deeply flavoured jus that had a tartness about them.

My only quibble was with the “tatties and neeps” served alongside – diced and, I think, sauteed when they would have been far better mashed and buttery.

Lynn’s smoked haddock served with a poached egg and chive-speckled mashed spuds was a standard combo, but one that she seemed to enjoy greatly.

We shared a side order of plainly cooked green vegetables.

The prospect of (her own) dessert proved beyond my wife, but she thoughtfully sampled mine so she could express an opinion.

The buttermilk panna cotta was too firmly textured for my palate, but had a fantastic yoghurt-like flavour mitigated by vanilla.

And the plum compote that accompanied it was, like the red currants of the main course, fantastically sharp.

But not half as sour as the taste left by that parking penalty...