Three Mile Inn, Gosforth, Newcastle

Jun 7 2009 Sunday Sun

Telephone: 0191 255 2100

I’VE said it before, there’s nothing like a drive to work up an appetite, except of course when Mrs Eats gets her walking boots on.

Packing myself and my good lady into the Eatsmobile and heading out on to the open road is a sure fire way to prepare us for a hearty Sunday afternoon feed.

But this week, instead of heading for the country, I made a bee-line for Gosforth in Newcastle, and the Three Mile Inn. As good a run out in the car as any.

With a neon sign completing the imposing, detached building, on the Great North Road, there was no danger of missing it.

“It’s over there”, Mrs Eats still felt the need to point out as we motored along.

Mercifully, I was allowed to pick my own parking bay this time. The Three Mile Inn shares a car park with adjoining restaurant Scalini’s, which is handy for a pub as popular as this one. A good-sized beer terrace makes it even more of an attractive proposition on a sunny day.

While we both enjoy an Italian on a special occasion, it was the pub side of the business we were heading for, and to my delight a Sunday carvery of beef, pork, or lamb was on offer.

Even when we could find a table we had to make the tough decision of eating in or out. The modern and cosy interior won out in the end . . . after all it was closer to the bar and toilets.

Leaning more towards the modern-boozer, The Three Mile Inn offers something for everyone; a full wine list, cocktails, shooters, plenty of sport on the television and a child-friendly atmosphere - until 7pm, when children are not permitted in the bar. The seats are comfortable and the atmosphere remains very much that of a pub.

Despite the fancy drinks glistening behind the bar Mrs Eats and I were much more interested in a pint of lager and a diet-coke, reasonably priced for a city venue.

Being a pub, diners are asked to order at the bar, which for a man of my experience was far from a problem, but be warned, you can’t set up a tab.

This was a difficult one for Mrs Eats. She had to order her dessert at the same time as her starter and main course, and guess how many drinks she would like. That’s never a nice way to approach a meal, and staff didn’t help much either. Still it’s not their fault.

I was all ready to leave mid-pint, but Mrs Eats convinced me of the quality of the food coming out.

Sure enough our starters were delicious. Nachos for me at £4.90 were a fine feed, especially after skipping my usual Sunday morning fry-up. There was barely a peep from Mrs Eats as she tucked into her chicken goujons at £2.95, except for when she asked me to fetch more of that “delicious” garlic mayonnaise.

The mains didn’t disappoint either. I opted for the beef. The carvery comes in at £6.95 for adults and £4.95 for children. There is also a roast beef dinner on the bar menu at £6.50 with all the trimmings. Plenty of gravy, good-sized Yorkshires and veg to mop it all up. Great.

Mrs Eats went for a Three Mile Big Burger at £6.95, and, my, what a feed. Even before I was offered a taste of the cheese-covered double-burger and bacon treat I knew it was good, Mrs Eats’ mood improved no end. There was even a smile as she salted the generous portion of fries which came with it.

The table service, while friendly, was far from professional, and at times we felt forgotten about - I must be getting old. But with stomachs nicely full of very tasty food and a lager on the go it was difficult to worry about it too much.

I’m sure it would have been much more of a problem for She Who Must Be Fed if she wasn’t constantly banging on about the value for money. As annoyingly tends to be the case, she was right. The size of portions were excellent for the price.

And the desserts put all concerns out of our minds. We operated a revolving merry-go-round of my chocolate fudge cake and her sticky toffee pudding both at a bargain £2.95. Covered in cream and ice-cream, we wolfed them down.

Still a little miffed at only having the option of paying up front, I was happy to get up and walk out without having to organise a bill. It felt dangerously “free”.

As we climbed back into the car, ready to head home for a contented snooze, Mrs Eats and I finally agreed on something - the Three Mile Inn is a great concept, well done out with a spot-on atmosphere, tasty food and the some of the best value for money I’ve come across.

Unfortunately, it’s seriously let down by staff, who at times, don’t seem to care.

13/20