REVIEW: What we thought of Wetherspoon's Buck Inn in Northallerton

Good Friday saw a trip to the seaside at Seaton Carew (getting in there before the tourist hordes after this week's TV dramatisation of the infamous canoe man story), and Easter Monday involved hunting for a new fence panel to finally repair last year's storm damage, followed by lunch at the new-ish Wetherspoons in Northallerton.

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Confession time. I've been in plenty of Wetherspoons over the years, but not usually to eat on purpose. The eating has sort of happened by necessity or accident while in there partaking of a few beverages, meaning the food quality, or otherwise, has been difficult to judge.

The Buck in Northallerton opened as a Wetherspoons after a major refurbishment last year

One previous meal at the Northallerton 'Spoons, The Buck Inn, on the High Street, was fairly underwhelming, but notable for being my first experience of the ordering via mobile phone app – great during Covid, but highly impersonal in what is, after all, supposed to be the hospitality industry.

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On Monday lunchtime, it was pleasantly busy with a wide mix of customers, mostly eating, from young parents with newborns, to larger family groups of all ages. It's a spacious venue, with loads of seating, indoor and outdoor, and has been done up in traditional Wetherspoons-style, with a nod to local history. Where else could you find local luminaries such as Gertrude Bell, footballer Michael Dawson and mountaineer Alan Hinkes all celebrated on the same walls?

Inside The Buck, Northallerton's relatively new Wetherspoons venue

The menu is an absolute behemoth, and diving into it is not for the faint hearted, or those who haven't brought their reading glasses, with multiple options for most dishes, or deals to include drinks. This was also my first experience of the new public health rules which have seen restaurant chains forced to add calorie counts to their menus, and goodness me, it is terrifying. I'm not exactly sure what this will achieve, other than scaring away customers who already have a difficult relationship with food. Anyone with any sense should know that an "ultimate burger", for example, which includes bacon and cheese, and is served with chips and onion rings (total: 1,703 calories), is not to be eaten every day.

My sister and I ordered nachos with cheese, guacamole, salsa and sour cream to share as a starter (£4.90, 627 calories), from the wonderfully friendly chap behind the bar, who referred to me as "madam" throughout our conversation, which, although ever so polite, made me feel about 1,000 years old. Usually the nachos would also come with chillies, but there were non available, which as it happened, was fine by us. Presentation left a bit to be desired, but the salsa had a pleasant heat, and overall, it was better than similar dishes I've had elsewhere at speciality Tex-Mex restaurants.

Nachos with salsa, sour cream and gaucamole

Service was nicely leisurely, giving us enough to time to browse the reading material on the table, which consisted of a hefty, glossy Wetherspoons magazine, plus another, quite bizarre in-house publication, declaring itself a special edition of "Wetherspoon News". With the front page headline "Does Truth Matter," it was dedicated to publishing corrections and apologies from various national media related to coverage of the business during the Covid pandemic. It was a bit heavy going for a quiet Bank Holiday lunch so it was a relief when our mains arrived. I'd ordered a "classic" 8oz sirloin steak with chips (£9.15 including a soft drink, or £10.45 with an alcoholic drink, 1,055 calories) although I neglected to opt for the gourmet version which for £2 more would have included peas, tomato, mushroom, three onion rings and a steak sauce (1,309 calories).

Sirloin steak and chips

I'd asked for my steak to be medium cooked, and it came most definitely well done, with not even a hint of pink to be seen, though it was juicy enough. The chips were the highlight.

Claire's grilled chicken breast burger and chips (£6.45 with soft drink, £7.75 with alcoholic drink, 1,031 calories), had good flavour and the chicken itself was nicely cooked, but it could have done with some spread on the bun, or perhaps a dollop of mayonnaise to make it less dry as a package.

Chicken burger and chips - a hearty portion

The dessert options looked tempting, if mostly quite sickly (warm cookie dough sandwich with ice cream, 845 calories!), but the generous portion sizes meant we had little space, so we opted out. The bill, which included a soft drink and a pint of lager shandy as part of the meal deals, was £21.80.

Is The Buck Inn a place to visit in search of high class dining? Clearly not. But in these difficult times, with so many people having to make their pounds stretch further, to be able to eat a decent two-course meal with a couple of drinks, in pleasant surroundings, for less than £22 isn't to be sniffed at. It won't be for everyone, but for an inexpensive Bank Holiday lunch in between visiting garden centres and DIY stores, it was perfectly acceptable.

The Buck Inn

237–238 High Street, Northallerton, DL7 8LU

01609 761461

Open 8am to midnight, Sunday to Thursday, 8am to 1am, Fridays and Saturdays

Ratings (out of ten): Food quality 6 Service 7 Surroundings 7 Value 10

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