This venue is now closed
Whenever the flock ventures “oop north” to see The Geordie Bird (his nibs’ mummy) we always like to go out for Sunday lunch, not only is it something to dress up for but it’s also our way of saying thank you for putting up with us and our extra mess. The venue we went to last year has apparently gone downhill a bit so the search was on for another suitable place and after a little bit of digging The Riverside Lodge at Morpeth was chosen. Morpeth itself is a beautiful historic town that has lots of quaint independent shops as well as high street favourites, but it is the river and its walks that really captivates many visitors, and it’s easy to see why.
We arrived shortly before 12.30 and were shown straight to our table which was in a pale blue and cream room that had a art deco-esque theme to it with the stylised artwork on the walls and bold geometric shaped lamps. Before long myself, the Chick and the Boy Wonder had decided to go for their 3 course Sunday special menu (3 courses for only £9.90 per person), and the Geordie tribal elder went for the senior portion main course at £5.50 - regular main courses are a very reasonable £6.95.
For starters we had 2 portions of Potato skins with BBQ and Garlic Mayo dips and I had the Farmhouse Pate with toast and caramelised onion chutney. The potato skins themselves were lovely and crisp on the outside not at all greasy, and my own Pate was nice and chunky.
We chose 3 different meats for the roast; Lamb, Pork and Beef and they were all beautifully cooked. Each meat was superbly moist and flavoursome, sliced quite thinly and there was a very generous amount on each plate. The accompanying Savoy cabbage and carrots were perfectly cooked with just a hint of their natural crunch remaining, the new potatoes were packed full of taste and the roast potatoes had lovely fluffy insides with amazingly crispy outers. Mushy peas were in a separate bowl, as was the meaty gravy. The homemade Yorkshire puddings were nice and light, not at all claggy, and they were a fantastic size. The chef came into the dining area and went round each table asking if everyone had enjoyed their meals, which was lovely to see. As you know, we have fairly hearty appetites dear reader but even we were impressed by the huge plateful of food you got.
For pudding we chose the Chocolate Fudge Cake with Ice Cream, the Syrup Sponge with Custard and the Caramel Apple Betty with Custard. The fudge cake was really chocolately and rich, and the little chick really enjoyed it. My own Caramel Apple Betty had lovely chunks of apple in it with plenty of caramel and caramel pieces too, all on a nice light base. The Man was very enamoured with his syrup sponge as it was a beautifully light sponge laden with a serious amount of golden syrup, which he loves. The Boy Wonder and I had a coffee to finish and we passed away a good few minutes as a family just talking about what we’d all been up to in the previous months since we’d been together last.
The bill for all the food, the coffees and a coke, large glass of wine, pint of premium lager, water and archers and lemonade came to just under £50, and given the quality and quantity of the food we feel this is fantastic value. The staff were all extremely smart and pleasant too, so if you haven’t been to The Riverside Lodge already then I can recommend it for your Sunday lunch next week. Hot Wings definitely doing a victory swoop along the river for this team, well done guys :)
