Food & Adventures

Monday 9 July 2018

Horton Grange | Alfresco Lunch


Summer's here, the sun is shining so that means outdoor dining is on the cards. This week was particularly glorious so me and Mrs. Cool headed out for lunch in the sun. We originally wanted to go to The Boathouse in Blyth and sit by the harbour but when we got to Blyth it was totally misty so we headed in land to find warmer climes.

Next we headed to The Parlour in Blagdon for lunch in the garden but when we got there we were told there were no tables available outside and when we asked if we could book one for later the said they did take reservations for the garden however when we questioned why there was a reserved sign on one of the tables outside we were given some BS response so decided against giving them our custom.

Finally we arrived at Horton Grange, a Country House Hotel and Restaurant in Ponteland. The garden is really pretty and it is a great sun trap on sunny days. Even though it was a weekday afternoon, the heatstroke must have got to us and we ordered a glass of wine each and had a read of the menu.


Mrs. Cool was after a light meal so she went for the Halloumi and Roasted Pear Salad. When the salad came Mrs. Cool was disappointed that the pear wasn't roasted and it was just thin slices of raw pear. The rest of the salad was really nice and the dressing was a sweet raspberry vinaigrette and made this a very fresh lunch.


Since Mrs. Cool was having a salad I decided to have a salad too. I went for the Caesar Salad and added the Roast Chicken Breast for an extra £2.00. I too was a little disappointed when my salad came as the menu said it had anchovies (which I love) but when it came my Caesar Salad was sans Anchovies. However the chicken more than made up for it, the breast was cooked perfectly and was so juicy and the skin was incredible with a little caramelisation. The Caesar dressing was really nice too and not too overpowering and there was a good helping out croutons.


Despite the issues with the salads we still enjoyed them and the wine was really good, out bill came to £25 which isn't bad for lunch. The garden is really great and there is loads of space and it would be great to take kids, there is a giant chess set too if you fancy teaching your kids the rules. There are some great nooks with flowers dotted around and a swing chair and all very Instagrammable.



Well, that's all for now.

S


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3 comments

  1. That’s a shame there were disappointing aspects to the salads. Horton Grange is lovely. We chose it as our wedding reception venue in 2012. One of the reasons we chose here was the good food. Since then, we have some bad reviews of the food here. We have been meaning to return since we got married but have never got round to it. Unsure whether we should now :-/

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    Replies
    1. The salads were both still really good - I think perhaps they need to re-visit/re-write their menus and include what is actually stated. The setting is stunning.

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  2. Your lunch time struggles sound very similar to my brunch battle a few weeks ago where I tried to go to 4 different places for my breakfast but things kept going wrong - unexpected closures, broken kitchens ... nightmare!

    Glad you managed to find somewhere lovely in the end! We've had an evening meal there and afternoon tea and really enjoyed both

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