A TALE from my ancestry and the name of my musical heroes inspired me to take a culinary trip beyond the boundaries of Durham City.

I had heard good things on the East Durham pub grapevine about Maximo’s Italian restaurant in Castle Eden, so decided to investigate for myself.

The restaurant is located at the Old Brewery site – a poignant spot for my family, as it is where my late great-great-grandparents met, back in the 1800s.

And having seen North-East rock band Maximo Park deliver the goods at their homecoming gig in Newcastle earlier that week, I felt compelled to visit the restaurant with a similar name.

My partner, Sean, and I were immediately impressed with the picturesque, modern appearance of the premises, which also includes function rooms for outside hire.

The whitewashed buildings look clean and modern, but still maintain a traditional air, in keeping with their countryside surroundings.

We were given small white rolls with butter while we browsed the menu, which offers a range of traditional Italian food such as pizza, pasta and risotto, plus chicken, steak and fish dishes.

For starters, I chose the warmed buffalo mozzarella wrapped in parma ham (£4.95), which was delicious, and just enough to whet my appetite for the main course.

Sean’s starter of mushrooms in breadcrumbs stuffed with paté was equally tasty, but maybe not a dish for lighter appetites.

It was very rich, especially as it was accompanied by a very generous helping of garlic mayonnaise.

For the main course, I ordered cannelloni (£6.50 full price, or £4.75 during Happy Hour) which had a beef mince and spinach bolognaise-type filling, topped with tomato and béchamel sauce.

I thoroughly enjoyed it – the mixture of flavours was lovely – but the filling was so piping hot it made my eyes water at one point.

Sean was equally satisfied with his choice of pollo Maximo (£10.95) – chicken with mushrooms, tomatoes, and peppers in a rich sauce, served with chips.

We shared a generous side order of asparagus (£3.70).

After letting the first two courses settle slightly, we succumbed to the temptation of the dessert menu.

I could not resist the profiteroles (£3.95), while Sean opted for sticky toffee pudding (£3.95).

I was a little bit disappointed with the lack of chocolate on the profiteroles, but the creamy filling was pleasant enough.

Bottles of house wine and various lagers and spirits are available, but because it was a Saturday lunchtime-after-the-Friday-nightbefore, we stuck to soft drinks.

I was a bit mystified about why the Diet Coke (£1.65) was 15p more expensive than the lemonade (£1.50), because the servings were the same size.

Our final bill came to £43.05, which we thought was good value for two three-course meals and four soft drinks.

There is a friendly, relaxed atmosphere in the restaurant, and the staff are welcoming and very helpful.

The menu has lunchtime and early evening special offers from Monday to Saturday, with discounts on selected starters and most pizzas and pasta dishes.

It would be an ideal place to visit after an afternoon hike through the East Durham beauty spot, Castle Eden Dene.

According to Sean, the best way to judge any restaurant or café is by the chips.

I thought this was his trump card to order chips instead of vegetables to accompany his main courses, but he might just be onto something there.

Maximo’s chips are homemade, tasty enough, but nothing outstanding.

Which sums up our dining experience quite well.

The food is fresh, honest, and mostly homemade, served in generous portions.

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal, but it was nothing out of the ordinary.