REVIEW: Excellent fish - but burger failed to light my fire

This week we headed out to the Newby Bridge Hotel in search of a classic meal in classic surroundings. The hotel is very much a landmark for travellers on the A590, a Georgian building which, presumably, was once a coaching inn.

We arrived early evening and although there was no roaring fire in the Huntsman's Inn part of the hotel, the bar is cosy enough, thanks to all the panelling on the walls and hunting scene pictures and upholstery.

We have previously eaten in the newly-refurbished restaurant but the bar is to my mind far more characterful and welcoming - yet somewhere I had never eaten.

The hotel has recently opened up the bar further, extending it into a second panelled room - and it was there that we eventually settled ourselves.

It was pleasant but I found the noise from the reception area distracting, as the receptionist was listening to extremely loud messages on the answering machine - something which surely should be done in the privacy of an office.

The evening menu features both pub classics and more formal dishes that are also served in the restaurant, so we decided to mix and match. Oddly, the bar offers just one starter: soup. Other than that, the barman informed me, people share a salad.

Neither of us being in the mood for a salad, we shared a bowl of mushroom soup which, when it arrived (and promptly), was a hearty and generous bowl of thick, piping hot, tasty goodness.

We both tucked in with gusto (once we'd managed to open the paper napkins which are wrapped round the cutlery and appear to be sealed on) and pronounced it delicious.

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For mains, Gordon chose one of the restaurant dishes, sea bass in a shrimp sauce with a fondant potato and mixed vegetables (£13.95) while I went for a classic Huntsman's burger at £12.95.

The sea bass was tender, well-cooked and well-presented; the vegetables perfectly al dente and the fondant potato soft and delicious. Gordon thoroughly enjoyed it and left not a morsel on his plate. The chef had done an excellent job here - and Gordon was well-satisfied.

My burger, however, was a rather different matter. The burger itself was fine. The meat was far too tightly packed, meaning it lacked true gourmet texture but it was thick and tasty.

The brioche bun it was served in was fresh. A large slice of bacon was on the flabby side. Pale white rind is not a good look - this should have been a lovely crispy rasher. T

he burger came with a mild relish but it really needed something tangy and sharp to set the whole thing off - onion rings or some sort of pickle would have done.

When the friendly waiter brought the dish, I asked for some English mustard (which would have lifted it) but none ever materialised.

The skinny fries were dried out and lukewarm. Dumping some inferior fries into a metal bucket does not elevate an already ordinary dish.

With no salad or other accompaniment, the dish looked boring; and at just £1 less than Gordon's excellent sea bass I felt it was poor value. For £12.95, a pub burger should be something special. This wasn't.

For pudding we shared a chocolate tart with chantilly cream. The pastry was crisp (it would even have passed muster with Mary Berry) and I dread to think how many calories the filling contained. The chocolate was as dense as Benny from Crossroads - so dense, that it was almost a struggle to get the fork through it.

But Gordon insisted he likes his tarts thick (I chose not to take that as an insult) so he was more than happy.

With drinks the bill came to £43. But we had difficulty paying. As I stood at the bar all set to proffer my card, the fire alarm went off and the entire hotel had to be evacuated. We mustered in the car park, awaiting the fire engine sirens; and I uncharitably licked my lips at the thought of an on-the-spot news scoop.

However, it was all over in but a few minutes - no fire, a guest had left his bathroom door open and the steam from his shower had activated the alarms - and we were soon allowed back inside to settle our bill.

This had been a meal of more good elements than poor but it is the inconsistency of the food that evening which lingers in the memory. The excellent fish dish was overshadowed by my thoroughly mediocre burger, which had failed to light my fire.

Luckily for the hotel, the guest who had set off the alarms had failed to do the same thing.

Ratings

Food 3.5

Service 4

Atmosphere 3.5

Value 3

Pros

Dog friendly hotel

Lots of parking

Recently refurbished

Cons

Not enough starters

Inconsistent quality