Food that warms the heart and soul
MUCH is made about the connection between sense and memory – there are those that would tie the sound of church bells to their wedding day or the taste of tomato soup to a week before payday. But even through this flippancy there is a connection.
People return to the restaurants they love to eat the food that once connected with a moment. So it was we headed to the Northumberland Arms – a pub that resonated with happier times.
THE PUB
Not quite off the beaten track the Northumberland Arms is perhaps a mile-and-a-half from the A1 nestled about the River Coquet in Felton.
Away from the bar there’s a dining room reminiscent of a country gent’s parlour – antlers are on the walls, they are making up light fittings and there is a very definite country chic vibe, which is mostly reflected in the menu – and the stone flagged floors.
For a pub it can be a little pricey but the quality is there. But that’s not to say it’s posh – far from it. The bar sees a mix of locals in after a day at work to visitors stopping by for an evening bite.
THE FOOD
To start I went for the homemade black pudding with Parma ham and egg (£7.50), while she went for the fishcake – made from cod, salmon and haddock and served in a smoked bacon and leek cream (£8.50).
Both were vast – though the fishcake could arguably have been a main and was easily shareable with dense chunks of fish in a rich smoky cream sauce.
While the black pudding was, for something so famously hefty and greasy, light and balanced – some of the best I’ve had.
For mains we switched with me going for the sea, with the paprika battered hake and chunky chips, while she chose the house-smoked flat steak (both £13.95) with a side of fries (£1.50).
The hake was a fist-sized slab of fish with a heft of potato making up the chunky chips. Delicious but not all that memorable.
The smoked steak was something else. Never let it be said that smoking isn’t cool – all right, in terms of sparking up a Marlboro the horse has very much bolted on that, but for smoked food...it’s just beginning.
Cooked perfectly and with a lingering richness, smoked steak is a must-try – unless of course you’re one of those oddballs who don’t like smoked flavours, and even so there was a plentiful helping of peppercorn sauce to help disguise that.
THE OUTCOME
There is something special about the Northumberland Arms – really, tucked away in the middle of nowhere, it has no right to be so good.
Admittedly this wasn’t a first time visit, but even if it was there was every reason for a return visit – and who knows, maybe there will be.
If food is linked with emotions after all, then the Northumberland Arms throws up all the warmth you need heading into another winter.