Three Tuns, New Elvet, Durham

3:03pm Friday 15th August 2008

THE Swallow Hotels group, of which the Three Tuns in New Elvet, Durham, is a part, has been through its ups and downs in recent years.

At one point the whole company, once proudly owned by the long-gone and much lamented Vaux Brewery, went bust and it ended up in the hands of a somewhat strange-sounding company called Reit Asset Management. As the name implies, Reit is a property company, not a hotel company, and its stewardship of the Three Tuns is a classic example of what happens when people concerned only with the future value of bricks and mortar get their hands on a business whose aim is to serve customers.

The state of the Three Tuns is a disgrace because this was once a fine hotel. Today, it has the appearance of a tired maiden aunt, well behind the times with only memories to feed off.

Walking in on a Sunday lunchtime, it had the feel of a near deserted Wild West saloon. Faded upholstery, peeling, or non-existent, paint, it looks like it hasn't been touched in years. As we walked through to Brown's Restaurant, we half-expected tumbleweed to wrap itself round our ankles.

This isn't asset management, it's criminal asset devaluation.

It could be stunning. It's an old building with plenty of character.

In the right hands it could be transformed. The staff are probably quite good too but they seemed infected by the down-atheel atmosphere. On reception and in the restaurant, they were perfectly pleasant and efficient, but we suspected they knew full well they were working in an environment that nobody much cares about. It is difficult to give of your best in the circumstances.

The Sunday lunch menu was utterly uninspiring. There were four starters - soup, pate, melon, salmon mousse - and five main courses - roast beef and turkey, rump steak, tortellini and, bizarrely (perhaps the chef's cry for help), an Indonesian fish dish.

The dessert choices were even more startling in their unoriginality - fruit salad, "a selection" of ice creams, sticky toffee pudding and cheese and biscuits.

Our choice of starters were as we had half expected - utterly dull. Budget supermarket pate and a salmon mousse so devoid of anything remotely resembling flavour that all I can remember is the accompanying yoghurt (it was runny).

Thoroughly depressed at this stage, we waited with some foreboding for our roast beef and turkey. But, happily, it was actually pretty good. My beef wasn't pink as I prefer but it was tender and flavoursome. Sylvia's turkey was similar and the gravy, although a bit gloopy, was clearly made with a decent stock. The Yorkshire pudding which accompanied the beef was a good colour, light, and crisp in the right places.

There was a large plateful of vegetables, included some excellent buttery mashed potatoes and well-cooked carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. The roast potatoes were not so clever, clearly having hung around too long, to the point where their outer surfaces had turned leathery.

Sylvia didn't fancy anything on the minimalist dessert menu. I had the sticky toffee pudding which was perfectly OK if nothing special.

A two-course Sunday lunch is £9.95, three courses £12.95 and that includes coffee and mints.

Well, actually, a mint because it was only one. Stick to two courses would be our recommendation and make sure those two don't include a starter. Our bill was £27.30 which included two drinks, a gin and tonic and a mineral water.

Given the mediocrity of most of the meal and the shabby surroundings, it could never be more than middling value.

Frankly, we fear for the future of the Three Tuns. Just 100 yards away, the Royal County has just been given a top-to-bottom overhaul by its parent company Marriott, the SAS Radisson opens later in the year and boutique hotels seem to be opening in the city by the month. Reit Asset Management needs to do something quickly, such as manage its asset - or hand it to someone who can.

Eating Out