The Daily Telegraph did a recent review recommending two places to have dinner in Northumberland, the Sportsman and the Treehouse in Alnwick. We felt very proud of this article as we try very hard to offer only the best and freshest ingredients that this fantastic area can offer. We have also had a fantastic review by newspaper editor Mr Paul Larkin from the Northumberland Gazette, dated 17th April 08, please see the news section.
My ethos for the restaurant is to continually provide our guests with a friendly relaxing environment where they can try some of the best seafood imaginable and also some of the finest, often farm supplied, meat and game. Embracing traditional Northumberland and British ideas we try to create dishes that have their own distinct subtleties. This we believe we achieve by keeping flavours natural, simply grilling when applicable, using seasonal produce and sourcing the freshest ingredients. An example such as our trawler supplied Dover Sole with Samphire or offering a shallot, white wine,creme fraiche and butter reduction made with fish stock from the whole fish that we have prepared in the kitchen. We generally have three menus during the season offering the best of what is available in season. Due to our consistent efforts to source only the freshest produce.you will quite often see Gary or Stan, two local fishermen who are good friends of mine coming through the restaurant with their supply of the freshest seafood imaginable.
Lobster, crab, langoustines, monkfish, lemon sole, halibut, turbot fresh cod or haddock and not to forget wild salmon or sea trout quite often caught in Embleton Bay. Please see our menu page! An example of our favourite dishes are, wild Salmon fillet served with Beurre Blanc or farne Deep local Langoustines flash fried with chilli, garlic and ginger, and for the more traditionalist, Northumbrian rib of 28 day aged organic Monkridge Hill beef with baby carrots, fine beans and creamed horseradish sauce. Monkridge Hill was one of Rick Steins food heroes, this traditional farm is run by a pioneer who has the only organic pure breed Aberdeen Angus farm in Northumberland.
Our wine list has been carefully selected by myself often incorporating wines that I have sourced or tasted on vineyard trips when I have been on holiday. Examples of these are La Cometa a cult wine from Planeta in Sicily which has won the coveted three glass or tre bicchieri award, which is the most prestigious award in Italy. Other wines that we love are Pic pouel de Pinet which is a fantastic wine from the Languedoc which goes great with Holy Island Oysters a dish quite often on one of our three seasonal menus.
We have the only Valpolicela that was awarded the three glass award in 2005. Another fantastic red, Barrua, was voted to better than the 2001 Sassicaia by Jancis Robinson. Sassicia is an iconic and extremely expensive restaurant wine.
The Autumn months are a nice time to visit the Sportsman when you can sit and get a warmth in front of the fire with a Brandy in hand and look out over the sea.
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