Whatever the weather, I'm a huge fan of a roast dinner, so I'm always interested to try out a new venue.

I have to admit, The Village was not somewhere I had thought of when it comes to a carvery but, despite boasting the "best pasta and pizza" during the week, the Bournemouth hotel's Buca di Beppo restaurant is all about the roast when Sunday comes around.

Light, spacious and airy, the eaterie's dark red leather seats and monochrome photos of icons including Sofia Loren and Frank Sinatra give it a modern, yet comfortable feel.

We were invited to choose our own table – a nice touch which ensured we weren't sitting on top of any other diners – before our drinks order was taken and the eating arrangements explained by friendly waiting staff, who were young, but very helpful.

Customers pay a set price (£15.95) for three courses, and are invited to help themselves to starters, mains and desserts.

A deli-style counter is laden with a range of cold starters, including pâté, pork pies, coleslaw and mackerel, as well as portions of prawn cocktail, Caesar salad or tomato and mozzarella.A soup of the day is also on offer – mushroom on the day we visited – along with a pile of crusty bread rolls.

I settled on a Caesar salad, followed by half a bowl of mushroom soup, while my husband tucked into a selection from the deli.

The salad was the perfect light starter, with crisp lettuce, tangy cheese and crunchy croutons, while the soup was piping hot, thick and full of flavour. Meanwhile, my husband went back for second helpings from the deli counter.

Next up, the main event.

The cheerful chef informed us there were four choices of meat on offer (pork, beef, turkey and gammon), and we could mix and match as we pleased. I went for the turkey and gammon, while my husband chose pork, beef and gammon, and we were served up extremely generous portions of each.

We went on to pile our plates high with roast and mashed potatoes, carrots, parsnips, stuffing, pigs in blankets, cauliflower cheese, sprouts and cabbage, as well as the obligatory Yorkshire pudding. To finish, there was an array of accompaniments to choose from, including ladles of gravy, cranberry sauce, mint sauce, apple sauce and Horseradish.

The roast potatoes and parsnips were crisp on the outside while soft in the inside, and the al dente carrots and creamy mash had plenty of flavour, as did the rest of the veggies. Each of the meats were tender and flavoursome, with my only complaint being that there were so many tempting dishes to try that we had to eventually admit defeat.

Plates cleared, we decided it would be sensible to take a moment before approaching the laden dessert table, of which we had already done a recce.

Of course, the draw proved hard to resist for long, and we were soon dithering over the sweet selection, which included rhubarb crumble and custard, raspberry profiteroles, strawberry cheesecake, Eton mess, fruit salad and lemon posset.

I finally settled on the lemon posset and my husband decided to go for a slice of the strawberry cheesecake.

The mousse-like posset was tangy on the tongue and pleasingly fresh, topped with a delicate dollop of whipped cream to add a touch of decadence. The pre-cut cheesecake was wonderfully rich and creamy, with a generous strawberry topping and a crunchy biscuit base.

Great food great service and great value for money – we will definitely be back soon.

The Village, Deansleigh Road, Bournemouth

01202 055205

village-hotels.co.uk/hotels/bournemouth