WHILE our three boys have always been on the fussy side, my only “little girl” has always loved her food with an unquestioning passion. When Hannah was six, I wrote in my Dad At Large column how I’d read her a bedtime story and she looked up at me before saying: “Daddy, I love you almost as much as I love cheese sandwiches.”

To some, it may not seem like a particularly momentous tribute. But I know how much she liked cheese sandwiches and, quite frankly, expressions of love don’t come any bigger in my book.

These days, she is a 19-year-old, training to be a dancer. Her body is worked to the point of exhaustion every day so she needs her nourishment, and I’m pleased to say that her love of food is stronger than ever.

She was home on a break from the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, in Leeds, for a few days, so it seemed like a good opportunity to see if her tastes had become more sophisticated since those far-off days of cheese sandwiches.

Mum was at the theatre, watching Darlington Operatic Society’s excellent performance of The Producers, so Hannah and I headed for The Stables, int Wynyard Village.

It is owned by experienced chef Marc Everson, who says on the restaurant’s website: “When I first came to The Stables, my ambition was to bring together a relaxed, informal, friendly atmosphere and top quality food representing great value for money.”

So how does The Stables measure up to those ambitions? Relaxed, informal, friendly atmosphere – I’d say yes to all of those. The Stables has a modern pub feel, with a brick interior. I wouldn’t call it cosy, but it’s smart and modern and the service is prompt and welcoming.

If I had a complaint about the ambience, it was the background music that was reminiscent of a throbbing headache. Even my teenage daughter thought that the X Factor’s Olly Murs was inappropriate for a quiet evening meal.

A BASKET of fresh bread was followed by garlic, spinach and mushroom soup for me – piping hot and very tasty – and Thai fishcakes with sweet tomato chilli which my dinner guest described as “yummy”.

“Could you elaborate at all?” I asked, explaining that I had to write a detailed critique.

“No, just yummy,” she replied.

For our mains, I chose steak and ale pie with a puff pastry lid, while Hannah went for vegetable tikka massala with rice and naan bread.

I’m not a fan of the trend towards restaurant menus offering “chips” which turn out to be precious few in number and as thick as a copy of War and Peace. Thankfully, The Stables offers a sensible choice of chunky or proper thin chips. The steak pie was succulent and again beautifully hot; the puff pastry nice and light.

The vegetable tikka massala was “yummy – just yummy” .

I finished with iced hazelnut nougat with raspberry coulis and Hannah had apple and blueberry crumble with custard. Both were excellent, but were left unfinished due to the “enough to feed a horse at The Stables” portions which had come before.

With a large glass of house red for me, a couple of bottles of apple juice for her, the bill came to £45, which definitely ticks the “great value for money” box.

The Stables also offers a wide range of homemade pizzas and pastas, and anything on the menu can be ordered as a takeaway. The recommendation to visit came from The Northern Echo’s sports editor and Wynyard resident, Nick Loughlin, whose children are six and four.

Nick was insistent that I get across that it’s a cracking value place to eat for families with small children, with a kiddies’ menu offering a good selection of main courses, home-made ice cream and a fruit shoot, all for £4.95.

As for my grown-up little girl, she was clearly impressed. “That was yummy, Dad,” sighed Hannah, contentedly, on the drive home. These days, I think she might love me even more than cheese sandwiches.