RESEARCHING some background information on this week's destination, I typed the name Potto into the search engine on the internet. The message came up: "Do you mean potato?"

Which proves one thing: although typing may not be my strong point, Google isn't very hot on geography.

However, the message may have been prophetic. Potatoes did feature in a big, and rather extraordinary way at the Dog and Gun Country Inn at Potto, which, as all D&S Times readers will know, is a small village just off the A19 between Hutton Rudby and Swainby and home to the haulage company Prestons of Potto, in terms of mass recognition Teesside's answer to Eddie Stobbart.

And, although the wondrous internet may have failed to recognise the village, the importance of its location has obviously not been lost on Esmond and Jeanne Watson, who earlier this year forked out £500,000 to buy the pub, plus another £100,000 to expand and improve it. Stylish gastro-pubs like this within the dining-out catchment area of Teesside pay dividends. And, judging by the number of Chelsea tractors in the car park and diners with more bling than a team of footballers' wives, this one is calling the shots.

The Watsons, who sold their Middlesbrough camera business, Cameramart, to fulfil their ambition to run a pub, certainly know the right buttons to press. The 18th century inn has been cleverly divided into very distinct areas - a busy, informal bar; quieter seating areas with comfy leather sofas, and a stylish restaurant in which contemporary furniture blends well with the original architectural features.

Their young staff are well turned-out, well trained - and legion. In fact, there seemed to be so many of them in their smart black outfits that it was difficult to keep track of who was serving you (I hope they pool their tips).

But the Watsons' best shot must be the appointment of head chef Simon Wilson, who champions the cause of locally reared and grown ingredients. His local provenance - latterly the Three Tuns at Osmotherley and before that Judges and Crathorne Hall - couldn't be bettered. They'll no doubt be hoping the £40,000 they spent on the kitchen will keep him at home.

To begin Peter chose cod and crab fishcakes with lemon and chive crme fraiche (£3.75). Presented on a large platter with four indentations obviously made for the job, this was a very tempting - and substantial - starter that went down very well. So well, in fact, that I didn't get a taste. But I am told the cakes were fried crisply, the fish was much in evidence and the crme fraiche a well-chosen accompaniment.

My choice of grilled goats' cheese on dressed leaves with slow roast tomatoes with a balsamic and basil oil drizzle (£4.25) was equally well presented and a good combination of tastes and textures; the spikey sharpness of the cheese making a perfect beginning for things to come.

Other starters included chicken liver and pancetta pat, sweetcorn relish and toasted brioche (£4.50); Chinese duck spring rolls with hoi sin plum sauce (£4.25); Shetland mussels steamed in white wine, garlic, onion and cream (£4.50), and warm salad of Yorkshire black pudding, beetroot and toasted pine nuts (£4.25).

True to his roots, Peter chose chargrilled Yorkshire sirloin steak with roast beef tomatoes, field mushrooms and big chips (£13.95) for his main course. And this is where we take up the saga of the potatoes. When a menu says "big chips" you expect, maybe, fried potatoes of fairly substantial proportions, a manly bite as compared to the somewhat feminine French fry variation. But these chips were BIG, the veritable Colossus of a chip that bestrode the plate in a sort of artistic installation. ("I think he's a bit of a builder, this feller", as Peter observed.) You didn't know whether to eat them or have a quick game of Jenga.

They did seem a pretty popular choice with other diners but, there again, you could hardly miss them as they were heroically borne aloft into the restaurant.

Chips away, the steak was good and the "proper" mushrooms appreciated.

My choice of chargrilled chicken fillet on a Caesar salad with buttery new potatoes (£11.95) was a light and tasty combination, the chicken nicely grilled but still moist and tender.

Other options were: slow braised shank of lamb, colcannon and a rosemary glaze (£10.95); chargrilled fillet of Yorkshire beef with tiger prawns pan-fried in garlic and herb butter (£16.95); cod fillet steak on champ with mussel and lemon balm chowder (£10.95) or linguini of forest mushrooms with Pecorino shavings (£9.95).

I always think a short pudding menu is a pretty good sign. Endless lists of fantastically complicated-sounding concoctions have got to be of the mass-produced and microwaved variety. Here we were not disappointed. From a choice of six (seven if you count the cheese) we had sticky toffee pudding, banoffee sauce and vanilla pod ice cream (£4.25), which I couldn't recommend highly enough, and steamed rhubarb pudding with posh custard and cinnamon ice cream (£4.25), a clever variation on a traditional theme which was equally enthusiastically received. (I just hope it was Yorkshire rhubarb.) Other choices (all £4.25) were Bailey's cheesecake with Belgian white chocolate; summer fruit pudding with a blueberry and vanilla compote, and warm chocolate fudge cake with local clotted cream.

With a pint of lager and fizzy water for the driver, our bill was a little over £46. Minor constructive criticism aside, this is a restaurant that's on target for all the right reasons.