Ricardo’s, Front Street, Low Pittington (From Durham Times)

Ricardo’s, Front Street, Low Pittington

1:23pm Friday 18th December 2009

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Ricardo’s resurfaces with a flourish.

WHEN I last visited Ricardo’s – also for the purposes of these pages – it was situated in Hallgarth Street, in Durham City, in premises formerly known as The Albert.

If memory serves, shortly after my opinions appeared in print, the popular Italian restaurant disappeared, to be replaced by Spanish tapas bar El Coto.

When I returned, on a bitter Saturday evening in early December, Ricardo’s had resurfaced, at the Blacksmith’s Arms, in Low Pittington.

I very much hope my cursed lightning will not strike twice.

The new Ricardo’s is a smart but pleasant place to spend an evening with good Italian food, good wine and good company.

My fiancee and I had endured something of a struggle to make a reservation – having some weeks previously been told the establishment was experimenting with not serving food on Sunday nights.

To me, that would seem similar to a newspaper experimenting with not printing or a shop not opening, but that’s probably why I’m not an entrepreneur.

One presumes on these evenings the Blacksmith’s Arms part of the firm continues to serve and drinks are the order of the day.

The pub area is now very small indeed and, as guests seem to be invited to sit there upon arriving for dinner, one would guess it operates mainly as an adjunct to the more recent arrival down the hall.

Leaving it until the afternoon before the evening to enquire again about a table, I had almost waited too long. Tables were available only before 7pm or after 8.45pm, I was told. A good sign, surely.

With a Sunday shift in the office planned the following day for myself and catering for 60 in the diary for Sarah, we opted for an early sitting.

We were welcomed by two friendly and pleasant ladies, one of whom joked about having had to guess the spelling of my surname over the telephone. Stealing a glimpse of the booking before she quickly scribbled it out, I think she got pretty close.

I was for once glad to have used my own name, rather than assume a James Bondlike alias to preserve the reviewer’s required anonymity.

Sarah and I were shown to a table at the far end of the square restaurant, under a large mirror. The decor was to my liking: smart but not overly formal, with silver and blue lighting creating a Christmas feel which grew as I noticed the special seasonal menu we had been offered in addition to the year-round options.

There was also Christmas music sounding at the correct volume from speakers nearby. And traditional brass band carols at that – the only type of Christmas music, if you ask this cornet player.

I opened with king prawns (£5.95) which, although a little oily, squelched and resisted in perfect measure in the mouth.

Sarah was fond of her choice of garlic ciabatta with cheese (£2.75), as was I, as there was ample both for me to sneak a sample and for us each to keep some back to eat with our main course.

For the main, I chose pasta Sicilian (£6.50), a penne dish with meatballs and tomatobased sauce.

My fiancee opted for pasta Arrabiata (£6.50), the spicy nature of which pleased her taste buds immensely.

To finish, we were brought a small chalkboard offering choice of six desserts – a nice, homely touch, I felt.

My sticky toffee pudding with ice cream (£3.95) was excellent and, I can report, Sarah’s “snickers” (£3.95), essentially the nutty chocolate bar turned into a dessert, was very good too.

The main menu also includes steak, fish and chicken options, but no pizzas.

In advance of the evening, I had learned the old Ricardo’s had been a popular destination for my fiancee in the dark days long before we met, when she was but a young student in Durham and Hallgarth Street was within easy walking distance.

Presuming the new version survives longer after my review than its predecessor, I expect it will become a popular spot for us both in future.

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