Wynyard Hall Hotel

Charles Dickens, Disraeli, Sir Robert Peel, Churchill, King Edward VII, Elizabeth II and the Duke of Wellington are all past guests at Wynyard Hall, a hugely imposing mansion beside its own lake that is these days one of the North East's finest hotels. Golden gates flank the entrance, and as you approach the hall via a long, winding drive and cross over the lion-topped bridge, you start to get a sense of what's to come: gold-painted interiors, glass-fronted display cases, wonderful oil portraits and a fabulously lavish dining room - The Wellington Restaurant - decorated with magnificent floral displays and with sofa seating for some tables. In surroundings like this the food can struggle to compete for your attention, but Alan O'Kane's imaginative, contemporary cooking is more than up to the task. Menu descriptions are not overly wordy, as in a starter of 'chicken wings, chicken consommé, crispy skin, salt-baked Jerusalem artichoke' - a nicely balanced dish with some clever textural contrasts and pleasing to the eye, too. Whitby crab shows up in another starter, teamed with 'carrot and walnut variations', while hand-dived scallops (plump and juicy) come in a classic pairing with a pressing of Middlewhite pork, caramelised apple and boudin noir bon-bons. 'Variations of corn-fed duck, apple, blackberry, salsify, pickled walnuts' makes for a fine main course, or you could go for another surf and turf type combination (of the luxury variety) of slow-cooked John Dory with belly pork, preparations of langoustine, scampi anglaise and seashore vegetables. Tip-top pastry skills are on show in a dessert of coffee soufflé, coffee soil and biscotti ice cream, while chocolate lovers will be in heaven with the 'layered chocolate, cherry seven-ways'.