Italian Farmhouse, South Street, West Rainton (From Durham Times)
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Italian Farmhouse, South Street, West Rainton
3:00pm Friday 19th February 2010 in Eating Out
ITALIAN MAKEOVER: The Italian Farmhouse in West Rainton
A welcome new arrival from Italy.
HAVING never been to an Italian farmhouse, I feel somewhat under-qualified to say whether this is authentic or not, but I can say with some certainty that the former Greyhound pub has undergone a major transformation.
Half of the boozer is the same as it ever was, with locals enjoying sport on the flat screen telly, while patrons of the other parts of the pub are whisked away for a taste of Puglia.
The decor is rustic and Mediterranean, with sails and ropes to reflect the coastal region the owners are seeking to recreate.
The new-look restaurant only opened last week but was impressively busy when fellow reporter and gastronome Mark Summers and I visited on a wet and windy Monday evening.
It could suggest that, despite the economic gloom of late, green shoots of recovery are beginning to show.
One thing that was authentic was our waiter. His English was not great but, judging by his accent, he is not native to West Rainton, and that is reassuring.
Nothing worse, well I suppose there is, than going for an Italian meal only to be served by some charver telling you “ya peetsaz’ll be reet oot”.
Before our order arrived, we were served warm bread which came with a cheese mushroom and tomato butter and was amazing.
I kicked off with deep-fried breadcrumbed Applewood cheese (£3.25), which was served with salad leaves in olive oil and was delicious but a little claggy for my liking and would have preferred a softer cheese such as brie or camembert. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable all the same.
Marco, to give him his Italian moniker, went for the sautéed Garlic mushrooms (£3.25) which he said were “a nice portion but tasted a tad bland, not quite enough garlic for my liking”.
My main course was an 8oz rump steak with Diane sauce (£7.50). It was good enough, but had been battered quite thin and had an unusual taste I could not put my finger on.
The star of the show was the chips/roast potatoes, which were tremendous and everything you want from homemade thick cut spuds.
Marco opted for the strips of chicken cooked in tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms and Italian spices with risotto.
(£7.25) His verdict: “Served very hot.
Nice and tasty, good-sized portion, not too much, but not remarkable.”
I forewent a pud as I was stuffed to the gills but my companion bravely soldiered on and ordered the tiramsu, which is layers of sponge soaked in Amaretto and coffee with mascarpone cheese (£3.25).
He said it rounded off the meal nicely and was very tasty.
The menu is inspired by Puglia in south-east Italy and is often known as the “heel”
of the country, famed for its production of olive oil and pasta.
The new 70-seater Italian Farmhouse has been designed to bring the flavour of this area to the North- East.
It focuses on traditional Italian foods that are popular among the Puglia locals, including meat, fish, pastas and pizza dishes, like the wellknown calzone, and all will be made using ingredients sourced locally.
The restaurant is owned by Mark Hird, managing director of Tavistock Leisure, and his wife Nicola.
He said: “Puglia is a beautiful part of Italy and offers a true taste of what Italians themselves love to eat, including lamb, beef, pasta, cheese and fresh vegetables which are all in abundant supply.
“We are very excited about bringing a true taste of Italy to County Durham.”
The prices quoted were happy hour prices, available before 6.45pm, so the bill came to a wallet-friendly £37.90 for two meals but the main menu would not have bust the bank.
The Italian Farmhouse is a welcome addition to the County Durham culinary scene and is well worth a visit.
It would be a great venue for family Sunday lunches, intimate meals with loves ones and a night out for a big crowd. Grazie.
Andrew Grieves says...
7:55am Thu 25 Feb 10
The “Italian” waiter barked - and there is no other word for it – “Do you have a booking?”
We didn’t.
“I have 100 people tonight, very busy!”
My wife’s immediate response was to leave it, and we’ll try another time, thanks.
“How many people?” the waiter abruptly asked, which seemed a little strange, seeing as there were only four beings in the room, himself and THREE OTHERS.
The wife was all for leaving at this point, but a young local lass, realising that maybe we weren’t very happy, intervened and sorted us out a table, very polite, quite professional.
I can honestly say I have never had a more rude welcome in any restaurant - ever.
Regarding the board of fare, the tomato/herb butter was made from margarine, was slimy, chemically and left a nasty aftertaste. The bread was cold and stale.
The adults had the roasted ham hock which was very nice, crispy crackling, loads of meat. Unfortunately the hocks rested on a bed of chopped tinned tomatoes which were tasteless and bland. Vegetable and chips were fresh and well cooked.
The boy’s pizza was dry without much in the way of topping, in fact he helped himself to some of my tomatoes to try and liven it up a bit.
The Pinot Grigio was very nice and seemed good value at £11.95, until I got home and found they had charged me £14.99 for it.
A really poor dining experience, we didn’t feel like bothering with dessert, and when we left at 6.40 pm, the place was still less than a quarter full.