Truffle Restaurant, Grange Road, Darlington

A slow, lingering kind of museum visitor – family members regularly lap me several times in museums, exasperated that I can take so long poring over every exhibit and display case – I similarly don’t like to be hurried as a tourist.

It’s the same when it comes to dining: I like to find my own way.

But a recent Friday night trip to Darlington’s newest restaurant had me embracing a culinary and vineal tour guide of such sheer enthusiasm ... it made me think again.

Reading in these pages over the summer about the imminent arrival of Truffle where once was Browns, I almost sensed the upward movement of eyebrows on the faces of some folk hereabouts at the promise of a full-time sommelier.

Being a country mouse, I’ve not done much dining in top-class city establishments where such fancy-pants positions are the norm. It could be that a fair few of Truffle’s customers are in the same boat.

So I urge them to seize the opportunity and get the most out of Luke Richardson when they visit. Don’t be intimidated by someone who is paid to help you get the most out of your meal. He’s so much more than a wine waiter and, like the best sommeliers, is an expert on matching what goes in your glass with what you choose to get on your plate.

A lot of money has gone into Truffle, which has been established by a trio that until recently occupied Baltic’s Six restaurant: the sommelier, head chef Adam Hegarty and proprietor Matthew Robinson out front.

Huge chandeliers and a fair bit of crushed velvet is evident. Spread across three open floors, there’s a bar on the mezzanine upstairs, a few tables front the street level with the majority down steps towards the back of the restaurant.

It was there we were shown and handed an A4 menu with a simple six-six-six formation across the three courses. Starters ranged from a mushroom velouté with slow-cooked hen’s egg and truffle cream (£6) to cured organic salmon, crab, tomato and caviar (£9).

Mains started at £16 for poached chicken, black truffle, red wine & baby leeks, rising to £22 for rib eye of beef with Madeira sauce and bone marrow.

Choices made, I turned to the wine list. As the only drinker, and quite nervous about making the wrong choice with an expensive bottle (there aren’t any ‘cheap’ ones), I was delighted when Mr Richardson appeared at my elbow.

Sizing up my requirements in the blink of an eye (he later claimed he can pretty much predict what most diners will choose before they have taken their seats), he proceeded to choose me a glass of white and one of red, gauging my preferences and explaining his recommendations.

Both turned out to be excellent partners but I’m sorry to say that, dazzled by his enthusiasm, I promptly forgot what they were, and so failed to make a note.

Suitably kitted out, we were brought good warm bread (onion seeded roll and great sourdough slices) ahead of the starters. The waits were a little long, giving us time to debate the bowlfuls of blown quails’ eggs on the tables.

My wife had chosen the aforementioned salmon ensemble. A fantastically fresh-tasting piece of fish was paired with a similar proportion of crab, a dab of caviar atop the former, little spikes of samphire rising from the shellfish. Smears and drizzles of other flavours are harder to pin down, but no matter – the combination is excellent.

My salt-baked celeriac with truffle mayonnaise and pickled trompettes (£7) carried an even greater range of ingredients (probably well into double figures) and flavours. Apart from the melting tenderness of the root itself and the acid smoulder of the mushrooms, there were toasted hazelnuts, pea shoots, little wafers of crisp toasted bread wafers and, or course, that true taste sensation of truffle in the mayo.

With senses heightened rather than bellies filled, we approached our main dishes.

For me, it was shin of Dexter with onion and pomme pureé (£17). A substantial moulded loaf of very tender beef held together by caul fat membrane, it sat on its bed of tato with a great gravy and three different sorts of onion (well, one was a shallot) – an unfairly neglected side vegetable and one of my favourites, either braised or roasted.

Great, warming food for an autumnal night.

Anna’s poached chicken (outlined above) was similarly seasonal and with the same attention given to intricate construction. Two perfect cylinders of chicken (I’ve run out of synonyms here for melting tenderness) were encased in a thin layer of truffle and jackets of chicken skin. A further piece of skin, roasted to a crisp, provided an altogether different texture. Pomme pureé, rich red wine jus and a lovely combination of wilted spinach, leeks, peas and broad beans completed a great plateful.

To finish, we chose apple terrine with brown butter sponge and raisins (£6) as well as a selection of cheese (£7 for three options, £10 for five).

The latter is chosen from a vast tray of options, and heralds the return of my new friend Mr Richardson.

He’s as enthusiastic about his fromage as he is the contents of the cellar, and took the best part of five minutes to lead me around the largely French selection (he’s no fan of Yorkshire cheeses, I’m afraid) to help me make my choice.

The result was a sumptuous platter, ranging from Alpine goat to a Lincolnshire Cheddar. Good biscuits and even better tomato relish were complemented by quince cheese and, again, I got my man to choose the wine, and he obliged with a great Marlborough Muscat and, because he clearly couldn’t help himself, a little extra of a red specifically to go with the blue he’d recommended. Once more, apologies for the gaps in my notes – I forgot myself and was thinking only with my taste buds.

The dessert was, like Anna’s starter, a tasty pairing of the butter-rich sponge and fruit terrine, complete with apple sorbet and brambles.

So all told, a bill for three courses for two people of £82.75 (of which £17.75 was for wine) is a big boy in just about anyone’s book. But I’m nevertheless giving Truffle extra marks for value because I’m fully confident you’ll get your money’s worth – especially if you take up the value-added feature of the sommelier.

If you rate quantity over quality when it comes to value, it’s not the place for you. But as with the very best places we’ve eaten at, you’ll emerge with senses sated rather than buttons bursting.

For a restaurant in only its second week or so, service was pretty slick. My only gripe is reserved for the acoustics of the lower dining area: a low ceiling plus a large adjacent party made our experience almost uncomfortably loud. I’m sure a request to move would have been accommodated though.

So save up your pennies, and take a Truffle tour soon.

Truffle Restaurant

20 Grange Road Darlington DL1 5NG Telephone: 01325 483787 Website: trufflerestaurant.co.uk (under construction, but check out the Facebook page) Open for food: Noon-2pm; 5pm-9.30, Tuesday-Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday.

Disabled access: Okay for tables at the front but no access to loos.

Food quality 9 Service 9 Surroundings 8 Value 8