IT is probably the most eagerly anticipated restaurant open since the ultimately ill-founded rumour that Jamie Oliver was to open one of his FIFTEEN restaurants in Middlesbrough.

This one really has happened though. It might have been delayed by six months or so but eight weeks ago the fabled Black Bull at Moulton, near Scotch Corner, opened its doors again.

For those of you who don’t understand what the fuss is about, you have to imagine what eating out in the North of England was like in the 1960s.

Pub food consisted of sandwiches and pickled eggs, to eat out one had to go to a hotel. Continental restaurants – like the Blue Lagoon in Darlington – were only just beginning to open and by the end of the decade, the height of pub food sophistication was eating chicken in a basket with a bottle of Mateus Rose.

Yet it was in 1963 that Audrey and George Pagendam bought a one-room inn in a tiny village a few miles off the A1 and started what represented a food revolution in the North of England.

Audrey Pagendam was fond of saying that she brought the avocado north of the Watford Gap.

That may be a slight gilding of the lily but it is fair to say they brought the concept of fine dining to this part of the world before anyone else. For 38 years it was consistently rated highly enough to feature in the Good Food Guide – often the north’s sole representative – and was simply the place to eat for something special or on a special occasion. Its following was loyal and steadfast.

Following the death of George and Audrey, the Pagendam family eventually sold up, which is where the Black Bull story goes a bit sour. It was purchased by Harrogate businessman Philip Barker, who also owned the Black Horse down the road at Kirkby Fleetham, but things went belly up following Mr Barker’s arrest, with seven others on fraud charges. He denies the charge and is awaiting trial.

The Bull had been closed since 2012 when Provenance Inns (Carpenters Arms, Felixkirk; Oak Tree, Helperby among others) purchased it and set about restoring its fortunes.

It’s been a massive job by all accounts, the building having been left in a state of dereliction after its closure.

We reckon a seven-figure sum has been spent on the refurbishment. The fish bar has survived (hurrah!), Hazel, the Pullman railway carriage, has not (double hurrah – it was an awful place to eat) and a very large conservatory with a large outside eating area has been created in its place. There are also private dining areas.

Feedback about the new Black Bull has been mixed and surely that was inevitable. All those long-standing Black Bull devotees with fond memories of the Pagendam days are bound to say it isn’t what it used to be.

Which is kind of inevitable really. The challenge for Provenance is to create a new Black Bull which pays respects to its illustrious past while finding new customers who know nothing of the Pagendams. So apologies to all of you who have been bored with the history lesson.

So what of the new Black Bull?

It is clear it has got off to a good start given that it took three attempts to secure a booking, eventually picking a Monday night when it was busy. It had been even busier at lunchtime when early summer sunshine had encouraged a lunchtime trade which cleared the kitchen of haddock. Sylvia had been fancying fish and chips.

Fish was the thing here in the Pagendam days and it is a major part of the Provenance plan too.

Darlington and Stockton Times:

The a la carte menu is littered with fish classics, from seafood pancakes to whole grilled Dover sole, oysters, lobster, fish pie and, our choice for a shared starter, the seafood platter. But before that we enjoyed an amuse bouche of parsnip veloute drizzled with curried oil and some hunks of good homemade bread and particularly fine butter flavoured with tomato and pepper.

The seafood platter was well worth the £21 price tag. The lunchtime run on the fish and chips meant the replacement of haddock goujons with three king prawns worthy of the name each which we thought an excellent alternative. They were accompanied by some mildly-cured smoked salmon with a caper dressing, mini prawn cocktails and, best of all, six plump queen scallops served baked in the shell with a beautifully unctuous cheese sauce.

Sylvia followed that with a super-tender and flavoursome 35-day aged rib-eye steak (£23.95) with fat chips (there was a choice of skinny fries too), onions rings, mushroom and tomato. I was equally impressed with my heavenly combination of lamb, pancetta, broad beans, mushrooms, and a sticky thyme and Madeira jus (£17.95).

Sylvia couldn’t finish her enormous steak (they kindly foil-parcelled up the remainder to take home for the dog. What dog?) so I was left alone to savour a light and refreshing lemon delice (£5.95) – a small tower of rosemary and lemon short cake, meringue and raspberry.

We found little to fault with the food and service was experienced, smoothly accomplished and relaxed. The surroundings suited us – we particularly like the wellspaced tables and comfortable chairs with arms – although older Black Bull purists might think it a tad too contemporary for their tastes.

Our bill, which included just one glass of Prosecco, was £74.75. Not cheap but this is the Black Bull – the revived institution is a worthy reinvention of a much-loved foodie destination.

Ratings:

Food Quality: 10/10

Surroundings: 9/10

Service: 10/10

Value: 8/10