Ancient Unicorn, Barnard Castle

Mar 30 2008 by Eddy Eats, Sunday Sun

WHILE gorging herself on Easter eggs for breakfast, Mrs Eats politely informed me — through a mouthful of chocolate — that a long-overdue trip to Barnard Castle, in County Durham, was in order.

And, with the sickly smell of chocolate hanging in the air, I was hankering after a good scran more than ever, so suggested we avoid the world and his wife and trundle across to the slightly quieter, nearby Bowes.

The snow-covered hills gleaming in the sunlight made for a breathtaking drive as the Eatsmobile negotiated the country roads through Teesdale.

Although the odd snow shower joined us along the way, the weather certainly didn’t put a dampener on our trip out, but did appear to have kept the usual troop of Sunday drivers at bay.

Conscious of my rumbling belly, I was somewhat disheartened when the missus suggested that we made a stop in Barnard Castle itself and pay a visit to the famous silver swan at the Bowes Museum.

But I was fascinated by the 250-year-old musical automaton, which has become an iconic treasure at the museum.

Playing just twice a day at 12pm and 3pm, and for only 35 seconds at a time, blink and you miss it . . . but as the clockwork swan bends its neck and preens itself, even my grumbling belly could not distract my attention.

Back on the road, we quickly arrived at the Ancient Unicorn, which nestles high in the North Pennines just 10 minutes southwest of Barnard Castle.

The pub is a 16th-century coaching inn and has retained a lot of its historic character, both inside and out.

Although we had booked a table in the expectation of a holiday weekend dinner rush, we needn’t have panicked as the Unicorn was surprisingly quiet. We decided on the three-course Easter special at £13.95 a head, with She-Who-Must-Be- Fed opting for the farmhouse pate with chutney and toast for starter, while I plumped for the homemade carrot and coriander soup with warm crusty roll.

Both starters were delicious and resulted in a lot of cutlery swapping as we battled to decide whose dish was tastier.

I’ve always known that Mrs Eats has expensive taste but, fair dos to her on this occasion, as the £14.95 bottle of Argentinean Malbec she ordered was lip-smackingly good, although I only had a small glass as I was happy to stick to my pint of Battleaxe . . . one of three real ales on tap.

Having been delighted with our starters, Mrs Eats confessed that she was more than a little bit excited for the main.

And, sure enough, no sooner had she finished speaking than the friendly barmaid appeared with a roast lamb for Mrs E and an old favourite for myself, which regular readers will know very well is roast beef.

Both dishes came complete with crispy roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and crunchy vegetables, with lashings of gravy.

The generous helping of beef went down a treat but, for those who like theirs a little on the pink side, be sure to request it as such when ordering.

Despite the lashings of mint sauce Mrs Eats had heaped on her lamb, hers was equally tasty.

The other roast available was turkey, and also on the main menu were baked fillets of plaice and a mushroom, brie and cranberry Wellington.

After a brief rest to settle our full bellies, we cast our eyes over the dessert menu, where we had a choice of hot sticky toffee pudding, St Clements cheesecake, chocolate marquise, and banoffee tart.

Again, readers will not be shocked to hear that I plumped for the sticky toffee pudding, while Mrs E, who chastised me for not being adventurous enough, opted for the cheesecake.

Now, normally I would stick to my guns and say taste is the name of the scranning game, but I will make exceptions.

The presentation of the puds at the Ancient Unicorn was nothing short of impressive, and they tasted pretty good as well.

Once the last morsel of dessert had been devoured we moved over to sit near the roaring coal fire, with Mrs E bagging herself a comfortable seat in the rocking chair, where we finished our drinks before a scenic drive home.

Rating: 16/20