It’s a testament to how exciting I find a restaurant's cooking when I try and replicate the dishes that I've eaten at home.
After visiting Long Friday in Jesmond, I had a crack at making their cacio e pepe beans as soon as we got back to Cardiff.
Now, having visited their sister restaurant The Cook House in Ouseburn, I’m definitely going to have a bash at both the salad dishes we devoured.
Owned by cook, restaurateur and food writer Anna Hedworth, The Cook House stands out as a brooding black brick beacon in the middle of Newcastle’s Ouseburn Valley.
Their dining space is set over two floors, a subterranean bar area and a much brighter upstairs room where there you can watch the chefs at work in an open kitchen.
It’s no exaggeration to say that I wanted to order every dish on offer on their eclectic menu of small plates. I shed a tear that plates like pork, pistachio & sage terrine; beef shin ragu on sourdough toast; and ox tongue with English mustard aioli didn’t make the final edit.
The Cook House has an interesting selection of wines by the glass and even a couple on tap. We both started with some fizz, a minerally Albert di Conti pet nat blend of sauvignon and chenin blanc (£7.50) and a super dry L’archetipo Susumante (£8), both of which I’d class as enjoyably interesting rather than delicious. Much more successful was a glass of briochey Match Play champagne (£13) and a very gluggable Vina Albergada rioja (£5).
We kicked off with a belter of a snack – dinky warm and nutty pieces of rye bread (£8) were topped with super smooth and decadent chicken liver parfait that was punctuated by the fruity acidity of pickled cherries.
Our table was quickly covered with a procession of plates.
Lightly battered tempura cauliflower (£11) was just the right side of al dente and sat in a pool of comfortingly creamy coconut curry sauce.
A little pie (£12) really did live up to its billing, especially when considering the usual generosity of northern portions. Despite its diminutive size, it was excellent. A golden crisp crust (I think it must have been suet) had a soft-sided interior that was filled with tender shreds of spiced slow cooked lamb. The kicker was a thick courgette ketchup with a fiery punch of harissa.
A pair of salads were nothing short of brilliant.
Vibrant purple and slightly bitter radicchio leaves (£9) were topped with soft and sweet roasted grapes, crunchy and toasty roasted hazelnuts, and creamy and tangy whipped Elsdon goats’ milk cheese. It had a bit of everything going on – salt, sugar, acidity, creaminess and crunch.
Finally, light and soft crumbed focaccia (£12) was topped with slices of tender fleshed, fat striped, spiced pastrami. Crème fraiche with a delicate kick of horseradish and sweet and zingy pickles added extra layers of flavour.
Rhubarb and custard tart (£9) is pretty much my dream dessert, so it was an essential order. A vision in pink, the combination of silky-smooth set custard and sweet and fragrant rhubarb in jelly were both great. However, the pastry case was disappointingly devoid of any crispness. Over the years of writing this blog, I think I’ve been let down by more soft-crusted tarts than anything else #FirstWorldProblems.
In contrast, Mrs G’s dessert hit the bullseye. A light and crisp meringue (£9) was topped with a bevy of treats – whipped cream with an extra note of complexity from the addition of fennel, sweet and zingy blood orange curd, slices of cleansing blood orange, and the crunch of pistachio.
We had a delicious lunch at the Cook House that was packed with interesting flavour combinations and textures. And, I don't think I've ever waxed lyrical so much about a pair of salads. My only minor quibble is over a few of the un-northern portion sizes - I guess it serves me right for not ordering more carbs.
The Details:
Address - Cook House Foundry Lane Studios, Foundry Lane, Newcastle upon Tyne NE6 1LH
Web - https://www.cookhouse.org/
Telephone - 0191 276 1093
