WHEN you think of classic French bistro dining, a pit village in County Durham might not necessarily jump to mind.

But such a creature exists just a few miles away from Durham in High Pittington. Recently opened in the village’s former Duke of Wellington pub, Bistro Citron Vert is well worth a visit.

Situated on the edge of the village, it has wonderful views over the fields surrounding High Pittington and on the beautiful July evening we visited, was quite the idyllic location.

The fairly dilapidated looking building, originally built as a hotel in around 1800, was bought by Cary Kayll in 2012 with the vision of turning it into a restaurant.

It opened in March following a substantial renovation of the building and behind an eye-catching lemon yellow door, has a fresh modern feel inside.

Given the location, it’s probably wise the owners have gone for not too many covers and with a handful of parties, the restaurant felt busy and lively on a Wednesday night.

It has space for around half a dozen tables, or slightly more for smaller parties.

Offering a relatively small menu of classic French dishes, the restaurant focuses on fresh, seasonal ingredients.

The dinner menu is fixed price, with two courses costing £18 and three courses £22.50.

Diners are offering a choice of five dishes on each course, which while not huge is plenty if the dishes are good enough. From roasted onion and and garlic soup, to moules frites and tarte tatin there are plenty of Gallic options on the menu.

The combinations are classic rather than inventive – but full of good ingredients that you know are going to work together.

On the night in question I had worked up a fairly hefty appetite playing a netball match and was looking forward to some hearty fare to help with my athletic recovery.

To start I had mussels steamed in the heavenly combination of white wine, butter and garlic, served with crusty baguette, slathered with butter – the perfect mop to soak up every last morsel.

The mussels were fresh and flavoursome and the sauce good and garlicky. The wine was still a little sharp, so while tasty not quite great enough to warrant picking up the bowl and draining the contents.

My dining companion Carlo had a ham hock terrine, served on sour dough bread with pickles which he really enjoyed.

We followed the starters up with sea bream and steak bearnaise respectively.

My fish was served with baby spinach, samphire and sauce vierge (a concoction involving oil, capers and tomatoes) as well as a little broccoli and carrot.

The bream was well cooked, served with a crispy skin and the capers gave it a refreshing, salty edge – though if I was being hyper critical, they could have been a little crispier to give the dish a bit more texture.

To accompany both of my fishy courses I had a glass (or two) of Sauvignon Blanc (£7), which was a good match.

Carlo’s steak was served up medium rare, French style and was beautifully pink and juicy.

All the mains come with a choice of potato (sautéed, new, triple cooked chips or skinny fries.)

I had the sautéed, which were perfect and my partner had triple cooked chips, which were also good.

There was a longish (slightly too long) gap between the main course and dessert which was unfortunately filled with several (very lengthy) minutes of an ear-piercing alarm, which did a good job of spoiling the ambience.

For me the pudding choice was easy; The rich chocolate truffle torte, served with Cointreau Chantilly cream and caramelised orange, had me at rich and chocolate.

It was really good – like, really good. Well, it was rich and chocolately and what else could a girl ask for in a great dessert? I really liked the caramelised orange as well.

Carlo branched out from his usual chocolate obsession to try the well-caramelised tarte tatin, which he had never had before. He enjoyed it, but he did have a bit of pudding envy when he tasted mine.

While there was plenty to like about Bistro Citron Vert, we did have a few quibbles as well.

The service, while nice and friendly, could have been snappier and a little more professional.

The food however felt like good value and was well cooked and overall I would say is definitely worth a second visit.

The menu is changed monthly, so even given the relatively limited choice there is plenty to attract repeat diners.

As well as dinner, which is served nightly from Wednesday to Saturday, the restaurant does brunch, afternoon teas on Friday and Saturday and Sunday lunches.

It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

FOOD FACTS

Bistro Citron Vert, Wellington St, High Pittington, DH6 1AZ

Telephone: 0191 372 0564

Email: reservations@citronvert.co.uk

Open: Wednesday and Thursday noon-9.30pm for brunch and dinner; Friday and Saturday, noon-9.30pm for brunch, afternoon tea and dinner; Sundays noon-3pm for Sunday lunch. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Ratings (out of ten): Food 9, Atmosphere 8, Value 7, Service 6