The Clubhouse, Rockliffe Hall, Hurworth

Dec 27 2009 by Eddy Eats, Sunday Sun

The room itself was pretty impressive. There was a great view of the golf course. and the rolling hills behind.

And Mrs Eats was delighted when we spotted a certain well-known Premier League football club manager in the bar, and a Sunderland football player walking around the grounds. This pleased her no end and she couldn’t wait to get on the blower to her friends.

I told her not to be so daft. Not a good move as this left her pretty teed-off, but she soon came round once I poured her a glass of vino. The house white is a Turi Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, which was fresh and fruity and tasted fantastic, for house wine.

For starters, I’d opted for roast parsnip soup while She Who Must Be Fed had been tempted by salmon and prawn roulade.

The soup, which came with a soft white roll, was delicious and packed full of flavour.

There was silence as Mrs Eats sank her teeth into the roulade.

The dish came with horseradish cream fraiche, which the wife was a bit unsure of at first as she is not a lover of horseradish, but happily it was not strongly-flavoured so she had no problem wolfing it down. The roulade itself was a nice-sized portion and not too much to put her off the main course.

We’d both picked the Grand Reserve roast beef rib eye, which came with a large Yorkshire pudding, rich pan gravy, roast potatoes and a selection of vegetables, including carrots, broccoli and cauliflower.

When the beef arrived it tasted fantastic. It was cooked to perfection – juicy, not chewy – and was not spoiled by lashings of fat.

The gravy was superb, too, which Mrs Eats raved about, along with the roast potatoes, which were crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle.

She decided to abstain from dessert, but I had already feasted my eyes on a white chocolate and apricot terrine served with vanilla syrup, which sounded just as good as it tasted.

It was super-light and easy on the palate, making it a great choice of dessert after a heavy meal.

After our meal we retired to the bar for coffees as Mrs Eats wanted to indulge in some more celebrity spotting.

V The Clubhouse at Rockliffe Hall offers Sunday lunch with two courses for £13.50 and three courses for £17.50.

Mrs Eats was delighted when we spotted a certain well-known Premier League football club manager in the bar, and a Sunderland football player walking around the grounds