The Honest Lawyer Hotel, Croxdale, Co Durham

Jun 6 2008 by Geoff Laws, The Journal

AT the risk of hazarding a libel suit, the name of the Honest Lawyer Hotel sounds contradictory. Not that lawyers aren’t honest, he added hastily, but it’s their job to argue the innocence of known crooks and ne’er-do-wells as well as defend the good names of upstanding citizens.

There must be quite a lot of tongue-in-cheek stuff going on inside those horsehair wigs for the former. I, on the other hand, report nothing but the truth, m’lud!

On the night in question, we proceeded in an orderly fashion to the hotel in question in Croxdale Bridge, County Durham, parked in the CCTV-safe area adjacent and made our way through reception to the restaurant area and a window-side table. There were several diners already enjoying an early meal at the end of a hardworking day and I noticed a group of young men outside chatting and smoking, observing the now universally applied no-smoking policy in public areas. Praise be to the law! We read the menu, made our choices and enjoyed a glass of chilled white wine. The smokers went indoors and our starters arrived. My companion’s seared liver with figs and pancetta looked very attractive and, although the liver was blackened rather than seared, it was still velvety smooth inside. Strips of crisper than crisp pancetta and sweet, seed-crunching fig made this a sturdy starter, with fruit and meat juices mixing happily together.

My parsley risotto with tiger prawns and vine tomatoes was a proficient dish. A mound of creamy rice, the delicate cheese element balanced with a buzz of white pepper, provided a good mix of textures and flavours for the three, hunky prawns that were fanned out on top. A very pleasant start.

The plates were cleared and the smokers reappeared outside for another round. There was an air of desperation in the puffing that followed and I suspected this was an advert break in whatever they were watching on TV, but that is only circumspection and not offered as hard evidence, m’lud. I make no connection between the two events but, as they disappeared again, we were delivered of our main courses: chicken supreme stuffed with wild mushroom and braised leeks with a Bordelaise sauce for her and pan fried sea bass with caponata and sesame seed mangetout for me.

The fish dish was well presented with two triangular fillets balanced on multi-coloured caponata. The silver-skinned fish, deeply scored to allow the soft, white flesh below to show through, was complemented by al-dente mangetout. The delicate touch of the chef was evident in this very-together dish. The chicken dish was only slightly less satisfying. The elegant supreme, filled to bursting with mushrooms and leeks, was a little dry but well seasoned. The Bordelaise sauce was far too edgy, its ferocity coming from an overload of vinegary red wine. An excellent side dish of vegetables, all cooked to perfection, brought crunchy carrots, creamy cauliflower, waxy potatoes and hearty broccoli florets to the table.

The praise for the meal ends here. You only read on if you want descriptions of the very poor desserts, starting with the bread and butter pudding, which was a trave sty. The sandwich of flaccid, unappetizingly pale, pappy bread was flavourless and, with no sultanas in sight, the custard was the only active ingredient in as much as it moved. The cinnamon, honey and apple tart, with seasonal berries and vanilla ice cream was no better. Dry apple slices fanned around a pastry case with no relationship between the two. The bland ice cream and tiny pyramid of raspberries and redcurrants couldn’t rescue the boring tart.

It’s a shame when good meals are let down this way. It’s just no good starting off well only to go into a tailspin with desserts. Leave them laughing is a good maxim and one this restaurant needs to learn if it’s going to win every case.

The fish dish was well presented... The delicate touch of the chef was evident in this very together dish.