No 16 Restaurant, Warkworth House Hotel, Northumberland
Aug 28 2009 by Geoff Laws, The Journal
With hopes still riding high, we went on to enjoy our main courses. Mine, honey roast duck with ginger carrots, pak choi and crispy egg noodles, was very good in parts.
The spiky ginger theme was diluted by a calming pak choi and celery mixed with a delicious honey, soy and sesame seed dressing, with extra seeds speckling the crispy noodles.
The duck was less successful. The thick fat layer beneath the skin hadn’t been addressed and remained unappetisingly flaccid. The honey coating hadn’t been caramelised enough to crisp the sugars or the skin. A little bit more attention to detail would have lifted the duck immeasurably.
My companion’s Northumberland slow-cooked feather blade of beef with horseradish jus came with tomato, basil, potato and shallot compote. The slow-roasted beef was beautifully succulent and the creamy hit of horseradish sauce was all this classic combination needed.
The chef, however, wasn’t satisfied with that and added a rich pool of red wine gravy, which was fair enough. If he’d stopped there with the flavours we’d have a well-designed dish but he went on to muddy the waters with a confusing mix of potatoes covered in a tomato/basil lemony sauce that challenged everything else. Less is more is a hard lesson to learn for some.
Desserts moved us on and sadly, after such a shining start, things dipped. The raspberry crannicken was presented as a mush of rolled oats, cream and raspberries reminiscent of a leftover muesli breakfast. There was no trace of the whiskey signature, so minus marks all round for this one.
The lemon posset fared only slightly better in that it was too glutinous to be called a posset, which should really be a soft custard, but, if you have a super-sweet tooth, this is the one for you.
It’s rare that restaurants fall down on desserts because they have plenty of time to prepare them, so maybe a little more attention here too wouldn’t go amiss.
As we left we could hear Jason’s cheery voice welcoming guests, clearly enjoying his hosting role in the bar. What a happy chap and, if sunshine comes in human form, it’s in Warkworth 365 days of the year.
