When I was asked to try the Quality Hotel's Sunday lunch, I thought to myself, yippee, that's on my doorstep in Boldon, I'll take that one!
That was the first of the many things I got right about this gig, as it was a truly lovely afternoon with my husband, Richard and our daughter, Ayesha.
The restaurant itself is just off reception, next to the bar and had a lovely buzzy atmosphere, mainly down to the baby shower taken place nearby. This looked like it was going down a storm with some very encouraging mmm’s and ahhh’s when the food was being served, which we read as a good sign.
We were warmly welcomed by two waitresses one that seated us and took our drinks order and the other that gave us the menu options.
The Quality Hotel serve traditional Sunday lunch, and on offer that day was beef, pork (with crackling), chicken and a fish option. Starters were ordered, I gave this course a miss, but hubby ordered pate and gluten free bread and Ayesha ordered the brie. Both came quite quickly and I was pleased to see that the brie was of the home-made variety with a crisp light batter coating and came served with a fresh salad and sweet chutney. Ayesha said it was delicious and that she would definitely order it again. Hubby’s pate was a nice strong tasting one, which he loves, so that went down well, even with gluten free bread, which he has to have. Thankfully they toasted it, so it complemented the pate well, as this type of bread can sometimes completely ruin a dish.
A little gap and our mains were placed in front of us. I had beef, done pink, Ayesha had hers cooked a little more and Rich had the pork. Very generous portions of meat were delivered on each of the very large plates, sitting on top of deliciously creamy mashed potato and hiding two crunchy roast potatoes. Meat melted in the mouth on the pork and beef, so no complaints there. Enormous Yorkshire puddings with gravy were served in a separate dish, along with another one full of carrots, beautifully white cauliflower and broccoli. Vegetables were cooked exactly how we love them, crispy, but piping hot. Two large boats of gravy complemented the lunch very well too, which when there are two people sitting at the table that are not happy unless everything is floating, it’s just as well!
I skipped dessert too, as I was full, but their chocolate mousse and lemon tarte looked beautiful. Hubby said that the chocolate was rich and creamy and you couldn’t eat much of it, but all the same delicious yet the best dessert of those two was definitely the lemon tarte, which had just the right amount of tartness, mixed with a smooth creamy texture and incredibly light pastry. This I tasted and wished I had ordered in the end!
The cost for three courses at this hotel is just £14.95 and as I only had one, it was just £7.95. This really should be advertised more as it was absolutely spoton. You can tell when chef’s care about what they’re serving and this definitely shone through. If I was going to have a moan about anything, it would be that they didn’t have some of the choices of wines on the menu, which would be better taken off if they haven’t got them in stock, but that is a minor whinge, and really didn’t alter our experience at all, as there was plenty of others to choose from. We will definitely be back very soon, and as it’s on our doorstep, it’s a bonus. Next time though, I shall be ordering a dessert!
