Ramside Hall Hotel (From Durham Times)

Ramside Hall Hotel

11:19am Saturday 25th April 2009

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A place to make new memories

GOING to Ramside Hall is always something of a nostalgic journey for me – it was in the hotel’s ballroom that my late husband Angus and I held our wedding reception.

Angus’s family until relatively recently were closely connected with the ever-evolving Ramside venture, which is now owned and run by the Adamson family, who were also part of the hotel chain at its inception.

Returning once again to the popular location was surely, I guessed, going to prove yet another trip down memory lane.

But an outing to Ramside’s newly opened Rib Room restaurant proved to be anything but a blast from the past.

It is sited in the same location as the hotel’s once formal dining room – but that is where all similarities end between this sumptuous new dining experience and its former existence.

With great imagination and flair, the Adamsons have created a restaurant more akin to New York fine dining and established a place to eat unlike anything else in the region.

The new restaurant is simply stunning, with great lighting, fascinating wall hangings and a buzz which somehow makes you feel you are in the place to be.

As its name suggests, the Rib Room specialises in meat and, offering an up-close view of the locally sourced top quality fare, a specially installed glass wall reveals the refrigerated room where the meat is hung.

With three guests with me – Christine, Colin and Trevor – we first enjoyed a pre-dinner drink in the familiar adjoining lounge before choosing from the menu.

I selected the twice-baked leek and mature cheddar soufflé, and only just in time with the dish proving a sell-out on the night.

The first mouthful of this delicious, flavoursome starter confirmed why it was so popular.

Colin, a Scotsman, selected Loch Fyne smoked salmon platter, served with lemon, capers and salad. A connoisseur of the classic smoked fish, he said it was “excellent’’.

Christine was delighted with her moules mariniere and Trevor judged his French onion soup with grilled gruyere crouton to be tasty.

We all chose steak for a main course – mine was a six-ounce fillet of beef, Colin and Christine chose a ten-ounce ribeye, with Trevor selecting a ten-ounce sirloin.

All were served on a board with roasted field mushrooms, cherry vine tomatoes, sautéed onions and a choice of sauce which came in a miniature copper pan.

To go with my steak, I chose a side order of American fries with my three dining guests plumping for handcut chips.

All of our steaks were mouthmeltingly tender and full of flavour.

For puddings, Christine and I had a coffee brulée, a delicious twist on crème brulée and Colin selected a vanilla panacotta and Trevor went for a cheeseboard.

The new restaurant also prides itself on a fine selection of wines, and those we chose were extremely good.

Steaks range in price from £13.95 for an eight-ounce rump steak to £20 for a ten-ounce fillet on the bone. Starters range in price from £3.95 to £8.50.

The food was very good indeed, and some might say that I would say that given my long-standing fondness for Ramside, so I left the overall judgement on the night to my dinner companions.

Colin declared: “That was exceptional and I’ll certainly be coming back.’’ Christine summed up: “The steak was outstanding and I couldn’t fault anything I had.’’ Last word to Trevor: “I enjoyed the meal thoroughly but I think equally important was the overall ambiance of the restaurant, which was great.’’ The restaurant is open each day for lunch from noon with last orders at 2pm, dinner is served from 6pm with last orders at 10pm.

Sunday lunch is served from noon with last orders at 3pm.

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