Without the presence of world leaders, Chris Lloyd finds the Dun Cow a more relaxed place for dining

THE LAST time I visited the Dun Cow in Sedgefield, there were helicopters overhead, armed marksmen on top of the bay windows and a noisy hubbub of placard-waving protestors was pinned, spitting fury, up on the green.

Inside, I was squashed behind an ancient timber and trampled on by an American film crew as Tony Blair led George Bush to the bar and said: “Welcome to my local.”

Twelve years on, the Dun Cow is probably fed up of being reminded of its lunch-hour in the global spotlight, so I’ll use it only as a set-up: if you were looking for a typical, traditional English country pub in which to entertain the President of the United States, would you take him to the Dun Cow?

The pub is certainly typical and traditional. It’s long and low, sprawling on many different levels. It’s centuries old, as the dark exposed beams show, but the bar shines like a stage in a spotlight. And, on a Saturday evening, it’s busy, people continually arriving, but the pub swallows them up without ever feeling cramped.

The restaurant was fully booked, so we grabbed a table and a church pew just a couple of seats away from where Tone met George.

The menu is large and varied: 15 starters, priced at five or six pounds, and 24 main courses, from £9 to £16, if you avoid the steak. I know because my wife, Petra, had forgotten her glasses and I had every detail of each one to her.

I chose the Trio of King Scallops with Cauliflower Puree and Black Pudding. The scallops were big and juicy, the black pudding was crispy and peppery, and the puree added an unexpectedly smooth texture and pleasant background taste to the dish. Very good.

Petra was also surprised by her starter, the Quintet of King Prawns with Chorizo, Chilli, Pepper and Red Onion. Surprised, because we’d expected it to come artfully arranged on a plate, but instead a prawn stew arrived in a lidded casserole dish with a dollop of coleslaw beside it. However, as she delved into her pot, she came to appreciate the freshness of the pepper, garlic and onion in the stew sauce, along with strips of chorizo and a little heat of chilli. In the end, it was judged a success, and we scooped up the sauce with bread from a basket.

For my main course, I chose Homemade Pulled Pork served with Homemade Mustard Coleslaw Flour Tortillas and chips. It was served in two large square bowls, one full of strands of sweet and juicy pork, and the other full of coleslaw which did, every now and again, have a whiff of mustard to it. There was a crunchy side salad and three tortillas, each the size of a seven inch single, and as hot and floppy as towel you used to get at the end of a Chinese meal.

It was a self-assembly job, loading the tortilla up with layers of pork, coleslaw and salad, and hoping that this huge, rolled construction wouldn’t disintegrate under its own weight. One of the three did, although I was ready for it with my napkin.

The pork was very good, although because my teeth are ageing as badly as my wife’s eyes, the strands tangled themselves in every gap. Fortunately, because she didn’t have her glasses, she was unable to see the graceless way I unplugged them. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the hands-on nature of what was a huge dish, although the pile of chips was completely unnecessary.

While I rolled my own, Petra tackled the Grilled Mackerel Fillets Marinated in Fresh Herbs with a Cherry Tomato and Basil Bruschetta. She does not give a dish her approval without it really earning it, but on this occasion, the fish was described as “beautifully cooked” and the bruschetta. This must be considered an enormous thumbs up.

All 11 homemade desserts were £4.55. I went for the Individual Black Forest Cherry Trifle which came in a tall glass and was a large, layered creation of cream, custard, sponge and cherry jelly. It was fine, but a challenge to complete.

Petra’s White Chocolate and Raspberry Panacotta was the evening’s one disappointment. The raspberry stood out, but the rest was rather bland and a peculiar consistency.

With drinks, the bill came to £61. Because of the busyness of the pub, I feared we in the bar might get forgotten about, but the young waitresses managed to keep tabs on our progress and the meal was served smoothly.

The Dun Cow is a pub, and from the great dollop of cauliflower puree to the 60p price sticker on the bottom of the trifle glass, there isn’t a great deal of finesse. However, the food is genuine, fresh and imaginative, and as a traditional slice of English country cuisine, I’d recommend it to a president.

The Dun Cow, Sedgefield

Website: www.duncowinn.co.uk

Phone: 01740 620 894

Food quality: 3/5

Service: 3/5

Ambience: 4/5

Value for money: 4/5