Gourmet Spot, The Avenue, Durham (From Durham Times)

Gourmet Spot, The Avenue, Durham

2:03pm Friday 12th June 2009

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Innovation comes first on menu.

THOSE who enjoy food where the first bite is with the eye will be interested to know there is a new chef in town.

Ashley Paynton is now running the kitchen at the Gourmet Spot, which opened at Farnley Tower in Durham City, little over two years ago.

He and sous chef Chris Cheek have come from Fisherman’s Lodge in Newcastle and appear to have Michelin stars in their eyes.

Critics have accused the restaurant, naughtily nicknamed GSpot, of a “certain pretentiousness”

in the past so it was with some intrigue that a friend and I visited last Wednesday evening.

Attractive garden furniture make perusing the menu outdoors an option on warmer options, but we decided to sit in the small but comfortable bar area before making our choices.

We were offered popcorn with sage butter and spiced almonds to nibble on before being led to intimate dining room.

The decor is sleek and stylish with slim black leather chairs, marble tables with an impressive crystal chandelier in the centre of the room.

Shortly after we were seated, we were presented with an unexpected short serving of asparagus veloute topped with wild mushroom foam.

This cold, velvety soup was the start of an assault of the taste buds that prompted audible gasps of delight from an American couple on a table nearby.

Hot fresh baked rolls were brought out served on a slate with salted butter and an unusual, but delicious, black pudding spread to further whet our appetites.

Swift and efficient service from our waitress meant it was not long before we were tucking into our first courses.

My ballotine of foie gras came with corn fed chicken, sauternes jelly, cherry dressing (£12.50) and was beautifully presented with a ring of dressing circling the rich and creamy centrepiece and the thinnest lattice of toast imaginable.

My guest opted for pea veloute, ham hock, truffle mousse, crispy quails egg (£9.50) which proved to be an impressive take on traditional pea and ham soup.

Thick chunks of ham poked out of the intensely flavoured dish, but proved more than a match for Mark, who could not quite finish it but seemed suitably impressed.

The menu is impressive but does not offer a huge amount of choice with just two meat dishes for the main course, two fish and one vegetarian in the form of mushroom risotto.

I went for the pork three ways, which came with asparagus, baby carrots and a smidgen of apple sauce. (£22.50). It was served on a flat plate and again looked too good to spoil.

The dish included cuts of cheek, shoulder and a coquette of pork that was simply delicious.

Mark opted for the best end and confit shoulder of lamb with pomme Anna, wild garlic puree and morels (£22).

The lamb was cooked to perfection and the he describes the dish as “rich and delicious, but a bit too one-dimensional as there was too much meat without the counterbalance of more vegetables”.

To drink we had a glass of Fiano Mandrarossa, a perfectly palatable Sicilian vin blanc served in a gigantic wine glass.

Having enjoyed a good selection of new taste sensations, it was with some excitement that we reached dessert with some room left for more.

The G-Spot’s website, best to Google the restaurant’s name in full from work computers to save embarrassment, shows an impressive selection of puds so I was a little disappointed when butterscotch bavarois was not on offer.

We decided to avoid the recommended dessert wines that are frankly ludicrously priced but are on offer for people where money if no object.

I chose warm chocolate molleaux with bayleaf ice-cream and hazelnut tuille (£9.50) which was rich and tasty but a little too sickly for me after such a filling and indulgent meal.

Mark chose the set rhubarb and custard, rice pudding spring roll and rhubarb sorbet for £9, which was “very nice but very, very rich”.

We both very much enjoyed our meals but felt the price of enjoying the privilege of such fine food means we are unlikely to be regular visitors.

Each dish was impressive in its own way, cooked to perfection and pleasantly presented.

Mr Paynton, a previous winner of an award of excellence by the Academy of Culinary Arts, has come up with an innovative menu that is certain to be well received by those who want to try something a bit different for a special occasion.

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