A VISIT to Chop Gate inevitably prompts for us the “Potato/potarto, Tomato/tomarto, Let’s call the whole thing off” debate about pronunciation.

Is it “Gate” as in don’t swing on it, or “yat” – to rhyme with cat?

These days, I am confident that it’s the latter (one theory has it that yat is an Old Norse word for gate or route) but it must trip up just about everybody passing through this small village on the B1257, just over the hill from Clay Bank.

It’s at the head of Bilsdale, which sweeps down most rewardingly to Helmsley, a dozen miles away.

The Buck Inn is a fairly prominent roadside landmark on the way. Look out for the roadside sign and its Germanic welcome, penned by landlord Wolfgang Barth, who hails from Heidelberg but took over the Buck with his West Yorkshire wife Helen in 2010.

On our recent Friday night visit, there were a fair few in. It was before the recent spell of glorious weather, so the fire could have done with a bit more stoking to provide a warmer welcome.

An unlit Calor gas fire – one of those cuboid portable ones – inexplicably sat sentry like a marooned Dalek a short distance from our table. The surroundings were functional rather than fashionable and, I suspect, lend themselves better to a daytime visit.

The Barths were presumably having a night off, leaving an able and efficient barman who doubled up as waiter, and a great pint from Wainstones Brewery down the road in Stokesley soon had me settled in.

Anna chose a king prawn starter (£5.95), with prawns that were big, juicy and tasty.

From the specials board, I chose a pheasant, pigeon and black pudding salad (£4.95). Sadly the meat, while in generous chunks, was overcooked and a little too hard on the jaws. It sat on top of the salad as if it didn’t really want to be associated with it, rather than being a carefully matched part of it. And I must say I didn’t blame it – the salad of leaves, tomato, cucumber and grated carrot salad was really uninspiring and worse – there was an imposter within.

Who likes large chunks of raw white onion in theirs?

We certainly don’t. Overpowering, crude and unnecessary.

The same mix sat beneath Anna’s prawns.

I fared much better with my main course, again from the specials – smoked haddock with a garlic, cheese and herb sauce (£12.90). A large piece of perfectly cooked fish atop pan-fried new potatoes in a tasty but not overpowering rich sauce. A generous helping of carrots, peas and cauliflower was served on the side.

I’m afraid Anna didn’t finish her choice – a home-made beefburger in a bun with bacon, cheese and chips (£9.95). She described it as gritty. What’s worse, there was another bowl of That Salad, complete with the allium interloper.

The saving grace was the cheesecake of the day (£4.95).

It’s so often a grim slab of a staple on pub menus, but this orange marmalade version was nicely balanced between base, light and creamy filling and tangy syrupy topping.

Two pints of the Wainstones and a fizzy water brought the bill to £46.50.

The landlords appeared towards the end of our visit with their astonishingly large Giant Schnauzer dogs.

Genial and friendly (the Barths that is, although the dogs were amiable too) after our conversation I was left wondering if we’d just been unlucky not to have enjoyed the pub with the bosses at the bar, although of course everyone has to take time off sometimes. There was certainly something missing that night – if only it had been the raw onion.