AS transformations go, the recent conversion of what used to be a very average boozer in the village of Piercebridge, just west of Darlington, into The Fox Hole takes some beating.

A quarter of a million pounds has been spent on revamping what was the Carlbury Arms – an utterly forgettable hostelry forever in the shadow of the nearby George – and creating an entirely new ... err well I’m not entirely sure what to call it.

Officially, it’s described as “a village pub and kitchen” which sort of sums up the confusion. We all know what a village pub is about but a “kitchen”? Of course, kitchen is the vogue-ish term for the informal cafes springing up around the nation’s cities. Fundamentally, it is a trendy urban concept.

And I have a bit of a problem with that. No question, the Fox Hole looks impressive in a rather edgy, hipster fashion. But it’s not most people’s idea of what a country pub should look like. Which doesn’t make it wrong but some folk may have a problem with the predominantly slate-grey and beige colour scheme which makes the exterior look like something from a Second World War battlefield film set and the gives the admittedly smart interior a cosy if hunkered-down, bunker feel to it. Yes, it is still a pub but one in which a metrosexual man would be more at home than a horny-handed son of the soil.

When one learns that the individual responsible for the design is the same person who created the interior for Lane 7 – a “boutique bowling venue” (ye Gods, what’s a boutique bowling alley?) in Newcastle – you can understand why it looks the way it does. I think you’ll either love it or hate it.

We were a group of five. Originally we had booked for two but the party grew by three at the reception for the opening of the Coach House down the road at Middleton Lodge (a review on this is imminent). This turned out to be no problem for the Fox Hole staff who happily accommodated this change and seated us in the bar while the necessary table amendments were made.

Menus were presented on clipboards (another trendy restaurant affectation – clipboard menus could be my pet hate of 2014). But the offer looked good – a varied selection of traditional and contemporary British dishes with sharing plates and grills to the fore.

Our post-champers reception party was in a merry mood (apart from the designated drivers, of course) but our waitress Amy was patience personified in dealing with a group of gabbling people who couldn’t make up their minds.

The food was the proverbial curate’s egg, some of it verging on the sublime, some of it rank ordinary, which was a little surprising given chef Ellie Richmond’s previous experience has included a stint at the lauded Yorke Arms at Ramsgill.

The hits included my starter of smoky, plump, pink-ish hickory pigeon breasts with fennel, honey and ginger (£8.25), Sylvia and Claire’s main course choices of super-fresh grilled half lobsters with green butter and chips (£14.50), Steve’s 10oz rib-eye steak (beautifully tender and flavoursome for £24) and Kate and Sylvia’s shared dessert, a rich, rich, rich, smooth, smooth, smooth chocolate marquise with salted caramel ice cream (£6). Oh, and there were also some nicely presented and perfectly cooked seasonal greens (another £2.75).

The misses were Steve’s escabeche of Heirloom beetroots with chorizo mayonnaise (£6.75) which was pretty to look at but not much else, a sharing platter of spiced beef (chilli basically), Dukkah dip. flat bread and an extraordinary hummus which was heavy with lemon but almost entirely lacking in tahini (the sesame seed flavour which is the essence of hummus), my veal escalope with Romesco sauce, capers and gremolata (£16.50) which was burnt, and Kate’s fillet steak (£26 with smoked vine tomatoes and chips) over which there was quite a debate about whether it really was 8oz in weight. The horseradish hollandaise which Kate ordered with her steak (£1.50 extra) was remarkable chiefly for the complete absence of horseradish.

Dishes that passed muster if nothing more included Sylvia’s ham hock terrine on toast with piccalilli starter (“very hammy” was her verdict) and my dessert of bread and butter pudding with apricot glaze (£6), served cold which might surprise some but was nevertheless very acceptable.

All in all a mixed bag but service (mostly from the aforementioned Amy) was generally personable and excellent, particularly as we were a disorderly lot who also insisted on two separate bills. Credit to her for getting both bills spot-on.

Our share of the bill, on which there was a £26 bottle of Prosecco (no, Sylvia didn’t drink all of it, there was plenty of help from Kate and Claire) was a shade over £86. Not cheap but they’ve got a quarter of million quid to recoup.

One last observation. A fox, of course, doesn’t live in a hole but an earth. These city slickers don’t know much about country ways.

The Fox Hole

Piercebridge, Darlington, County Durham DL 2 3SJ

Tel: 01325-374286 Web: fox-hole.co.uk

Ratings (out of ten): Food quality: 7 Service: 9 Surroundings: 8 Value: 7