Chris Lloyd opts for a touch of class at Sedgefield’s Hardwick Hall Hotel

AT the end of a humdrum week, we found a spare hour, and wanted to spend it somewhere a little classy – somewhere they might be able to accommodate us at a moment’s notice.

So Hardwick Hall at Sedgefield, a four-star hotel steeped in history and with superb sweeping views over the lake and parkland, got the nod. We arrived at 7.30pm on a Friday evening. In the function room, 100 bow-tied guests were busily playing heads and tails before their meals arrived; in the Boyne room, 35 people were seeing a doctor off into retirement and the restaurant was full. After a good-natured lecture about the need to book, we were found possibly the last perch in the bar and were warned that the food would take a long time.

However, it was an upmarket perch at which to wait, seated beneath a grand chandelier and ceiling plasterwork, marvelling at how many original features had survived the hall’s incarnation as a maternity hospital. We may even have been able to see through the porch to the lake and the Temple of Minerva on the distant hill, but it was one of those mizzley grey evenings which don’t encourage further inspection.

And anyway, the wait was perfectly acceptable. Starters arrived promptly. At £7.95, they are probably a pound too expensive, and I was disappointed that they had run out of Sticky Durham Pork Ribs. However, my Hardwick Prawn Cocktail (£5.50), was beautifully presented and good: it was crunchy in the right green places, and soft and fleshy in the prawny places. It was served with demure brown bread that didn’t overwhelm any taste, but to have been classed as really good, it would have needed a little zip somewhere.

Petra, my wife, was equally content with Chargrilled Bruschetta (£7.95): a nice, light starter with tomato salsa topped with buffalo mozzarella. While waiting for our main courses, there was just time to wonder about the large advertisement for “Classic afternoon tea £18.95; A very northern tea £19.95”. What would northerners have that would make their afternoon tea a pound more expensive? Sandwiches on black pudding stottie bread?

Our musings were interrupted by the prompt arrival of the main courses – all of which seemed correctly priced at around the £13 mark. Petra had chosen the Prawn and Smoked Salmon Salad (£12.95), which was well judged. There were loads of unadorned prawns – perhaps they were a little watery rather than explosively tasty – and a goodly pile of smoked salmon. The seafood sat on a full plate of fresh, undressed salad – we thought this was good because salad dressing is not to everyone’s taste – and was accompanied by a little saucepan of homemade 1,000 Island sauce.

I had ordered Chicken Breast with a Mushroom Cream Sauce (£13.95) from the specials blackboard. It was truly lovely – a surprisingly powerful sauce going superbly with the white chicken which had a little crispy layer of skin it. A deep bed of pomme puree added to the creaminess of the dish, and I was enthusing so much that it wasn’t until I was three-quarters of the way through that I realised that the promised peas and spinach hadn’t materialised. It was too late, and I could only imagine how the veg would have complemented the dish – in terms of taste, crunch and colour.

Desserts are priced at £6.95. I went for the Dark Chocolate Tart with Orange Mascarpone. Beautifully presented, the tart was full-on chocolatey without being sickly. The mascarpone wasn’t really orangey, but there was so much fresh fruit on the plate – even a couple of blackberries – it wasn’t missed too much.

Petra paid a £2 supplement and opted for the cheeseboard. On the wall leading down to the restaurant, there is a large fresco showing Tony Blair, the former Sedgefield MP, raising a wine glass having enjoyed a cheeseboard. It must have been a very different cheeseboard to the one we received. Although good value in terms of quantity, the four cheeses were cold and, apart from the blue, not at all flavoursome. In fact, the unripe Durham Camembert was more chalky than cheesey.

Our bill came to £78 – although nearly £20 of that was drinks. If it wasn’t for the cheeseboard, that would have represented very good value, particularly as the chicken, with or without veg, was a memorable dish.

Service throughout was excellent. There were plenty of serving staff on duty, and although we were tucked away on our perch, we were never forgotten about.

Although no one could tell us what northerners have in their afternoon tea, perhaps we’ll come back and sample it in these fine settings, and we’ll phone first to see how busy they are.

Hardwick Hall Hotel, Sedgefield

Phone: 01740 620253

Website: hardwickhallhotel.co.uk

Surroundings: 4/5

Service: 4/5

Food quality: 3/5

Value: 3/5