ARRIVING in Boroughbridge on a warm, drowsy summer Sunday lunchtime, it’s hard to imagine the days when this town was a dusty, choked staging post on the old A1, reduced to little more than a refreshment stop for folk travelling north or south.

Its leafy quietness provides no hint of its former role and driving north out of town over the River Ure, it’s easy to see why the Grantham Arms, on the roundabout at Milby, gradually lost its customers and viability.

It was just another empty country town pub until last year when it changed hands, purchased by the Thirsk-based West Park Inns concern created by businessman Richard Sykes. It’s part of a growing “chain” of pubs which include the Angel at Topcliffe and the Moor and Pheasant at Dalton (both favourably reviewed here in recent years), the Little 3 (Tuns) Thirsk and most recently the New Inn at Easingwold which reopened last month.

Use of the word “chain” is rather misleading because the top-to-toe refurbishment of all these establishments has been determinedly individual – and perhaps none more so than the Grantham Arms which is unrecognisable from the tired old boozer where the commercial traveller used to call in for a pint of Strongarm, a packet of cheese and onion and a pickled egg.

While the exterior is almost anonymous, the interior makes up it with a characterful personality which almost defies description. Forget traditional North Yorkshire pub and try to imagine a cool and classy Hotel du Vin crossed with a fin de siècle Parisian bordello with a topping of Liberace-style glitter.

If that sounds like an interior design car crash, it isn’t. It might not be to everyone’s taste but we liked the aubergine/black/grey colour scheme, the exposed brickwork and the timber panelling and floors. Sylvia liked the fresh flowers. I noted the absence of a dartboard and fruit machine.

The Grantham Arms rather extravagantly boasts of “redefining dining in North Yorkshire” and backs this up with a chef – Dan Graham – who can boast of minor celebrity status. He came second in TV’s Masterchef back in 2009, but perhaps more significantly, on the back of his TV success secured a post in the kitchen of Michel Roux Jr’s London culinary mecca La Gavroche.

Darlington and Stockton Times:

He should be able to cook then.

And although we had no idea if he was in the kitchen that Sunday lunchtime, we found it hard to fault what we were presented with.

The Sunday lunch menu is priced at two courses for £15.95 and three for £21.95 – pricey for the Sunday pub lunch market but then this isn’t really a pub anymore.

Standout dishes were my starter of tomato and Parmesan tart served with a rocket salad and truffle dressing which featured a very buttery, thin and short shortcrust pastry base, some thinly sliced and sweet tomato with the cheese thinly melted on top. It was a delicate and light, ideal for an appetiser. My only criticism was the fragility made it rather difficult to eat.

As soon as the fork touched the short pastry, it tended to splinter so getting it to the mouth was rather more of a challenge than it might have been. Still it was more than worth the effort.

The same lightness of touch was evident in my main course of fried fillet of plaice on some Jersey Royals with buttered spinach and samphire, which was bathed by a shellfish broth which included some fat and juicy mussels, clams and prawns. The classical French influence Mr Graham has picked up from Mr Roux was well to the fore with flavours of fennel and vermouth in the broth.

Sylvia had picked one of the three roasts meats on offer (rump of beef, pork loin and chicken) and thought her loin of pork with all the trimmings ticked all her exacting traditional Sunday lunch boxes, including juicy and tender thick slices of pork, a flavour-packed red wine gravy, a serviceable Yorkshire pudding and good crisp roast potatoes. The vegetables of carrot and broccoli were on the al dente side.

We both had puds. Sylvia picked a strawberry and basil Eton Mess which looked prettier than any Mess rightfully should and came with a sorbet which we couldn’t quite fathom the flavour of but agreed worked well with the sweetness of the cream and meringue.

My passion fruit crème with tonka bean parfait and pain d’epices was subtle and sublime, a real fusion of teasing flavours and textures.

The vanilla-y and supersmooth and creamy tonka bean parfait was particularly good.

It was an excellent lunch.

Darlington and Stockton Times:

Service was good and personable although we should point out that we arrived early, before most other diners, and for a long period we were the only customers. As one o’clock came, it did get busier and service slowed a little but to no great extent We were not drinking so our sparkling mineral water and Diet Coke only added £3.70 to our £41.60 bill.

Ratings:

Food Quality: 9/10

Service: 8/10

Surroundings: 10/10

Value: 9/10