Award-winning dining in elegant surroundings lured us to Eslington Villa for what would be a Friday afternoon to remember.
Low Fell’s idyllic, Victorian mansion house hotel is set in a nicely secluded spot which brings a semblance of calm to visitors at the end of a working week. Its lunchtime menu is neat and succinct, with good value available with two courses available for £16.45 and three, for £19.45.
As we knew from experience, this is a restaurant capable of real culinary flair, boasting a modern British / French menu devised by former North East Chef of the Year recipient, Jamie Walsh. After a quick blast through the “Friday finish” traffic, I rendezvoused with my son Jack, and we were soon reclining in the hotel’s lounge area.
There’s a lovely, leisurely vibe underpinning “The Villa”, so we first decided to sample a quick aperitif in the lounge before adjourning to the hotel’s adjacent conservatory restaurant. On hand to welcome us was the hotel’s general manager, Thierry Boos – a Frenchman, rather more well-versed in wine than us – who suggested a lovely, oaky Montepulciano to really awaken the palette.
The hotel’s extensive wine list is prefaced by a note from Thierry, who has neatly arranged each wine by character profile. For instance, whether you like a floral and exotic white or prefer a generous, fullbodied red, you’re sure to find something suitable to your tastes. Sadly, we couldn’t find a “cheap plonk” section so we had to soldier on in vain!
The dining area is bright and airy, offering views across the hotel’s manicured lawns and surrounding woodland not to mention the rolling hills of the nearby Team Valley. Changing frequently from sun to shade to rain and back again, it was very much a case of “Four Seasons in One Day” though fortunately the cooking wouldn’t prove so temperamental.
To kick off, my son Jack chose the ham knuckle terrine with shoots and confit tomatoes delicately punctuated by bright blobs of piccalilli mayonnaise. A real staple of the menu, this tastes as good as it looks with bold colours leaping out at you from the plate.
I chose the parsnip soup, spiced expertly and served with a basket of bread. A hearty and delicious opener. The kitchen at Eslington Villa champion high-quality local produce and Jack’s main course was a prime example of this.
3 hour, slow-cooked beef sat atop a bed of creamed potato and spinach, surrounded by a moat of wild mushrooms and pan juice gravy. It’s often said that anything worth doing is worth doing slowly and this rich, flavoursome dish was certainly testament to that. Following up, I chose my old business lunch favourite, peppered steak, a 6oz lunchtime portion served with skinny fries.
This was cooked to a perfect pink and set off exquisitely by the wine.
After a suitable digestive interlude, we were presented with dessert menus. Ordinarily, neither of us have sweet tooths (honest) yet sticky toffee pudding with clotted cream ice cream and the intriguing coffee cake with crushed walnuts proved too tempting. It seems I’ve made a pact to give up healthy eating for lent!
Few restaurants are as consistently great as Eslington Villa.
The team have worked hard to create a simple menu, brimming with innovative touches and deliver time and again with exceptional customer service. A perfect choice for a leisurely lunch or evening dinner.
For more information, visit www.eslingtonvilla.co.uk