The Kirkstyle Inn, owned by industry veteran Nick Parkinson, is a gorgeously refurbished, 40-seater restaurant in Slaggyford, Northumberland. I’ll grant you, there are less alluring British placenames than Slaggyford, but you’ll be hard pushed to find them. You’ll also be hard pushed to find Slaggyford itself, because it’s set in the South Tyne valley, in what’s officially Northumberland, but sort of also on the edge of Cumbria, and along a remote lane that will make your satnav go “wibble”.
Slaggyford and the whole of the North Pennines are the British countryside at its most beautiful. It’s lush, green, unpopulated and largely unvisited, because its purpose to tourists is unclear. All the pretty lakes and the shops selling Jemima Puddleduck figurines have given way to brooding stone circles and “jam for sale – leave money in box” signs. As a child in Cumbria, one of our most exciting days out over this way involved an ascent by car over Hartside Pass, a long, steep climb – pure Game of Thrones stuff. The cafe at the top sold rock buns, which was the peak of excitement, until one day it burned down and that was that. If Slaggyford feels like an odd place for Parkinson, son of Michael Parkinson (yes, Parky), to set up shop, bringing his 50 years of hospitality experience, well, yes, it is.
Until now, Slaggyford has not been a veal sweetbreads on pickled walnut puree or guinea fowl breast with morels kind of place. The Kirkstyle Inn has been quietly and determinedly here since the 18th century; it is the only pub for some miles around, and there is a feeling that local people have been crying out for a special venue for birthdays and anniversaries. As we arrived on a Friday night, minibuses were delivering families and the feeling that the weekend had landed. I shall never tire of seeing the power of a good restaurant bringing joy to its community.
The inn has had a good lick of paint, fresh carpets, new loos and a new menu, and the word is clearly out. I nosed through recent Tripadvisor chunterings to find locals who had already been for Sunday lunch five times. There is no higher praise.
Local chef Connor Wilson is serving an astonishingly reasonably priced menu, with three courses from the set menu for £30, which in this day and age feels like a misprint. His menu is ornate in places and plain hearty in others: we are served a starter of Berkswell sheep’s mousse in delicate dollops, with carefully positioned drizzles of sweet Northumberland honey and strewn with tiny mushroom caps; beef cheek comes soft, stewed and rich, with a walloping lump of creamy mash and a whole glazed carrot alongside. Likewise, there are snacks of fancy salt cod brandade piped into fingers, but also homemade pork and apple sausage rolls to drink with real ale.
The inn, although refreshed and modern, is doing a nifty dance of luring in new customers, and beckoning to the likes of the Top 50 Gastropubs crowd without scaring off people who just want battered cod and chips, which one of my family inevitably always will, so I can attest that this is very good, perfectly seasoned crisp batter with chips stacked up fancily like Hadrian’s Wall, but that are still fat, fresh, home-chipped chips (they’re also available with the venison burger in a brioche roll). More discerning palates might choose the rabbit terrine or the hand-dived king scallop with fresh Isle of Wight tomatoes, or barbecued celeriac with pickled sea vegetables. Yet this is still a pub, so, if you prefer, you can order a sirloin steak with braised short rib, black garlic, cavolo nero and chips.
Desserts are worth sticking about for, too: we ate a perfect raspberry souffle with vanilla ice-cream and a dark chocolate creméux with a beautifully executed tuile, boozy cherries and almonds; there’s also a cheese board featuring local ingot and darling blue that comes with date-and-walnut loaf, pickled celery and grapes. There was also a sticky toffee pudding with clotted cream ice-cream, which I am definitely having next time.
The Kirkstyle Inn is the sort of pub that’s worth making a detour for. It has quietly been here for hundreds of years, and now is its time to roar.
• The Kirkstyle Inn and Sportsman’s Rest, Slaggyford, Northumberland, 01434 671526. Open Thurs-Sat, lunch noon-2.30pm (3pm Sat), dinner 6-9.30pm; Sun noon-7.30pm. From about £35 a head à la carte; set three-course menu £30, all plus drinks and service
