Doxford Hall

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Doxford Hall
Chathill,
Northumberland
NE67 5DN
01665 589700
www.doxfordhall.com

Doxford Hall is in the far north of the North East region, beyond Alnwick. Unlike the heavy Gothic of Rockliffe Hall or Matfen Hall, this is an elegant building, fit for any wedding.

It took a while to find the dining room: despite several requests, nobody wanted to guide us and noone took our coats. But the room – the drawing room – was attractive; by comparison, the regular restaurant, out of service for a function, was sombre.

Rendezvous

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Rendezvous
3-5 Bell Villas
Ponteland
NE20 9BD
01661 821775

www.kevinliu.co.uk

Part of Kevin Liu’s chain of restaurants in Corbridge (Artisam), Morpeth (Mulan) and Newcastle Quayside (Orchid). 

These are friendly, reliable and perfect for kids and grannies. Unfortunately they also have little connection with real Chinese food

Matfen Hall

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Matfen Hall (The Library and Print Room)
Matfen,
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE20 0RH
01661 886500

www.primahotels.co.uk/matfen

Compared to Rockliffe Hall, Matfen Hall is a grander pile. It has a golf course, but no celebrity chef. Instead it has Steve.

The Orangery, Rockliffe Hall

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Rockliffe Hall (Kenny Atkinson at The Orangery)
Hurworth on Tees,
Darlington, County Durham
DL2 2DU

01325 729 999 

www.rockliffehall.com

They called themselves “Halls”, with pretensions of grandeur and fine living. The big houses of the Victorian rich are now open to all for weddings, banquets, and special occasions: no jeans allowed. We started at the bottom: Rockliffe Hall is as far south as our region gets, beyond Darlington.

I took Mrs Diner with me, for there’s no way she’d miss the cooking of our region’s culinary Wunderkind. Poached from his White Room at Seaham Hall, the winner of the BBC’s Great British Menu is now “Kenny Atkinson at The Orangery”. They’ve spent millions converting this Victorian gothic house into a five star leisure resort. You can spot the new extension: the bricks and tiles don’t match and the interior is like a Marriott. But then you don’t come here for the architecture or the décor. It has a fantastic golf course; and it has Kenny Atkinson.