Ridley Arms, Stannington

Apr 13 2008 by Sunday Sun

AS you’ll know from last week’s trip to the Pumphouse, a return visit to a pub that has been consistently good over the years always makes me nervous.

What if standards have slipped? Don’t get me wrong . . . I have no qualms about sharpening my critic’s pencil when a dressing down is called for, but I don’t relish the opportunity the way some food writers do.

So Mrs Eats and I were keeping our fingers and toes crossed as we approached Stannington in Northumberland.

The centre-piece of this pretty village just off the A1 is the charming Ridley Arms, which we last visited back in August 2006.

Back then, we were mightily impressed, not only with the excellent service and quality food . . . but also the loos!

It seemed that everything here was tip-top, so much so that we gave it a near perfect score.

So, the pub really did have a lot to live up to. However, our minds were put at ease immediately on arrival . . . and we breathed a collective sigh of relief to see that the interior was just as charming as we remembered.

This is not an especially traditional hostelry. The pub, part of the Sir John Fitzgerald group, has clearly benefited from a major makeover, with a low ceiling that boasts state of the art light fittings.

But the modern touches have been so tastefully done that they only add to the ambience. The last time we visited we felt as though we had stepped into Dr Who’s Tardis, and that hasn’t changed.

The pub’s dimensions look fairly standard on the outside but, once inside, you’re confronted with several spacious rooms, all with their own unique feel.

In an ideal world, we’d have spent time contemplating which room to enjoy our meal in, but the place was so busy that we were happy to take the first available table.

We were advised to order a drink at the bar on arrival, as every table was occupied. Apparently, the pub has no priority system in place for those waiting to be seated, which seemed rather odd.

Instead, we had to rely entirely on a member of staff’s memory, who kept giving us an occasional nod as if to say “don’t worry . . . I haven’t forgotten about you”.

After half an hour, a table at last became available. There was a bit of a scramble but the barmaid who’d been looking out for us pulled rank and we were finally seated.

A minor irritation then, but only because the pub has become something of a victim of its own success. From then on, however, our meal was quite simply wonderful.

We skipped starters because we were on a tight schedule. For my main course I chose red wine braised beef served with a fresh parsley dumpling for £8.35.

The meat was packed with flavour and melt-in-the-mouth tender, and was complemented beautifully by a rich onion gravy. She-Who-Must-Be-Fed opted for roast leg of lamb at £8.25, which fell off the bone with ease but — and I’m being picky here — it was a little scrappy. Her crisp Yorkie, however, was perfectly cooked.

Both meals came with roast and boiled potatoes and, on a separate plate, we shared helpings of carrots, green beans and cabbage.

There’s a great choice of desserts and I simply couldn’t resist the deep custard and nutmeg tart at £4.50.

I washed my meal down with a pint of Black Sheep Bitter — one of several real Ales on offer — while Mrs E enjoyed a mouth-watering Shiraz/Cabernet.

The Ridley Arms is so popular nowadays that it might put some less patient punters off . . . but as far as I’m concerned, it was well worth the wait.

• Head north on the A1 and, about four miles south of Morpeth, take the left turn signposted for Stannington. Turn right into the centre of the village and the Ridley Arms is on your right hand side.

Rating: 17/20