Dog and Gun, Cooper Lane, Potto (From Darlington and Stockton Times)

Dog and Gun, Cooper Lane, Potto

1:15pm Friday 1st August 2008 in Leisure By Malcolm Warne

ONE by one, across the broad acres of North Yorkshire and County Durham, traditional country pubs are getting makeovers the likes of Carol Smillie and Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen would be proud of.

Into the skip go the horse brasses, the Windsor chairs, swirly Axminster carpets and bar towels. In comes wood floor, black lacquer furniture, downlighters, funky radiators and other contemporary touches to make the place look like a cross between an IKEA showroom display and posh boutique hotel.

I have to say I'm a fan of this style of country pub. It is a clever reinvention of an institution that has shown signs of struggling to keep up with the times. Good examples can be found at the CB Inn in Arkengarthdale, the Otter and Fish in Hurworth and the Mill Race at Wolsingham.

The trouble is, however, that this new style is on the verge of becoming too pervasive, almost commonplace.

That was the impression I felt on entering the newly-refurbished Dog and Gun at Potto. New owner Stephen Irvine has spent a pretty penny on the place - rumoured to be the thick end of £750,000 - and damned impressive it is too. The place is very smart, sophisticated even, and everything the modern diner-out might be looking for.

But is it not a bit formulaic?

I am happy to be contradicted on this point and was most forcibly by Sylvia who thought I was talking a load of old tosh - she loved the look - because in most other respects the new Dog and Gun can be heartily recommended.

The staff are young, enthusiastic and efficient and the food is good too.

Waiting for our starters, we were offered a super selection of fresh bread including some flavoured with basil and sun-dried tomatoes.

The butter was a bit on the soft side but the starters arrived swiftly and Sylvia was soon diverted from this little dairy faux pas by the juicy garlicky-ness of her halfdozen king prawns (£6.95) which she had chosen not to be served on the sun-dried tomato bread as detailed in the menu description.

My char-grilled asparagus, blue cheese and sun-blushed tomato salad (£5.95) was a great flavour combination. It could only have been improved with a little more asparagus and less blue cheese to make it just a little less tangy.

Sylvia's 8oz sirloin steak (£15.95) was medium as requested, considered to be of excellent quality and accompanied by a nicely sweet-sour Madeira sauce.

My grilled mixed seafood (£15.95) was simply served with a light and aromatic saffron sauce. All the components - salmon, sea bass, scallops and king prawns were perfectly cooked.

The main courses came with a selection of vegetables, which included some deliciously buttery and garlicky Lyonnaise potatoes and sweetish red cabbage - both oft neglected by restaurants and more's the pity. There was also broccoli, green beans and carrots.

We finished with sticky toffee pudding, butterscotch sauce and clotted cream ice cream for her and baked lemon tart with lemon and lime mascarpone cream (both £5.95) for me from an OK but definitely formulaic dessert menu (other offerings were créme brulee and cheesecake). Both were absolutely acceptable if not exactly sensational.

We noted, with some surprise, that a selection of ice cream - albeit Beckleberry's from Northumbria - was also the same price.

Apart from that expensive bowl of ice cream, prices are pretty much on the button for an establishment of this type. Our bill was £64, which included two small glasses of a fresh and inoffensive rose Pinot Grigio. All that contemporary furniture, groovy lighting and ambience has to be paid for.

The evening after our visit, a new menu was introduced. According to the version on the pub's web site, it has not changed dramatically, with pasta main courses starting at £8.95 and an 8oz fillet steak topping the bill at a juicy £23.95.

The grilled mixed seafood has disappeared but there's an additional dessert - chocolate fondant pudding.

The Beckleberry's ice cream has been supplanted by "home-made Dog and Gun ice cream" but it is still £6 - a lot for a bowl of ice cream.