Autumn comfort food with flair: What we thought of refurbished The Restaurant at Jesmond Dene House

On a crisp Autumn evening, there can be few warmer welcomes than that offered at Jesmond Dene House.

Surrounded by the rich flora and foliage of Jesmond Dene, Newcastle’s only independently owned boutique hotel has the atmosphere of a plush country pile – while still being only a short walk from Ilford Road Metro Station.

The history of the Grade II-listed building is as colourful as the artworks it regularly changes on its walls, and stretches back to the early nineteenth century. Since then, it’s been everything from a grand Georgian home to a school before, in 2005, becoming a 40-bed hotel and restaurant.

You don’t have to be a hotel resident to dine in its splendid restaurant, which strikes just right the balance between feeling special, yet homely. This summer, The Restaurant underwent a refurbishment to echo a change in direction with the food and it’s served to make it all the more welcoming.

Starter of cured salmon, pickled mushrooms, tarragon and lime

We were seated in the lounge which wouldn’t look out of place in a scene from The Great Gatsby with its impressively stocked bar, whisky trolley, roaring fire and effortlessly cool furniture.

The menu’s the brainchild of Danny Parker, previously of Michelin-starred House of Tides, and he’s done much to make the food on offer here more accessible, while maintaining its two AA Rosette standards.

In keeping with the change in season, the a la carte version (available Monday through Saturday from 12pm-2pm / 6pm-9.30pm and Sunday evenings) featured food to warm your cockles, from substantial starters such as game terrine and leek and potato soup served with chives and cheese straws to hearty mains such as braised shoulder of beef, tender stem broccoli and triple cooked chips and roasted pumpkin and Parisian gnocchi with sage, pine nuts, brown butter and mushrooms.