Hotel du Vin, Newcastle

This weekend the country mouse went to the town! I have to admit that I'm a bit of a sucker for Hotel du Vin (http://www.hotelduvin.com/), even though I'm not usually a fan of chains. In this case, however, you know not only what you're going to get but also that you're going to like it. McFoodie and I plod off to Newcastle every so often to see his grandfather, and we've always stayed at Malmaison (for pretty much the aforementioned reasons) but since the new Hotel du Vin opened in October (http://www.hotelduvin.com/HotelLanding.aspx?HotelId=25), we've been looking forward to having another option...and to being a bit further away from the stag and hen infested madness of the quayside area of town.

Having already stayed at HdV in Cheltenham and in Henley and eaten at the one in Winchester, there really wasn't much question as to where we'd eat, so we'd opted for a dinner, bed and breakfast rate at £200. It's a really good deal - a mezzanine room, three courses with one side order and coffee and then breakfast the next morning. Our room was interesting, with the bathroom overlooking the bedroom, perfect for splashing McFoodie as he watched the football. Hotel du Vin know how to make you feel at home - the room was very nicely done and touches like full-size bottles of Arran Aromatics toiletries and real milk in the fridge make you feel less like a night away from home means compromising.

Once McFoodie had enough of my splashing and the football was over, we headed over to the bar for a drink before dinner. The bar has a really good atmosphere - just the right combination of smart and relaxed, and a glass of champagne each was a great start. When we went through to the bistro (http://www.hotelduvin.com/HotelPage.aspx?HotelId=25&NavigationId=165), it was buzzy but not too busy and we were lucky to get a table by the window, overlooking the terrace. Wonderfully fresh bread was promptly brought to our table to munch on while we perused the menus.

What Hotel du Vin does so well is sticking to what it does best - the menu is fairly simple but exciting, with a great mix of contemporary European dishes. Added to this is an emphasis on locally sourced produce, and great wine. There is a sommelier who takes your order after you've chosen food and they're happy to make recommendations that don't entirely break the bank. We chose a very nice sauvignon blanc from Casablanca, because it sounded romantic for our delayed Valentine's treat.

I started with squid with aioli - it's something I often dread ordering for fear of ending up with the regimented breaded rings that I always think came straight from a bag in the deep freeze, but this was great - big chunks of crispy, breaded squid with aioli that had just the right amount of punch. McFoodie opted for a homemade scotch egg, which was served with a herbed mayonnaise and seemed very good and was a perfect choice for my vegetable-hating husband. Choosing a main course had been a tough challenge as there was so much that tempted me, but I was glad that I went for pan fried sea bream with green beans and sauce vierge - it was beautifully cooked and my side order of creamy mashed potatoes was the perfect accompaniment. Someone at the table next to me ordered beef bourguignonne, which had left me suffering serious food envy, but I was pleased to recover once my own plate was in front of me. McFoodie had a really great ribeye steak with peppercorn sauce, and loved it, although it left him somewhat defeated. His request to have frites instead of fat chips caused no problem at all, and he ended up with a proper cone of chips that could probably have fed a table of four.

On finishing our main courses we realised the foolishness of throwing quite so much of the delicious bread down our throats. McFoodie managed to squeeze in some apricot sorbet, with a little help, and I had cheese. There was an impressive choice of British and French cheeses and the person serving really knew their stuff.

We left the restaurant feeling very full but very happy. Breakfast the following morning was just as good - with granola, yogurt and pastries for me, while McFoodie went for French toast with bacon, which seemed to make him very happy. As a devout cynic, I'm sure that I'll be disappointed one day, but I do like Hotel du Vin for its air of understated sophistication and consistent quality. Overall, it didn't break the bank either, even with £20 frivolously spent on valet parking. I hope I get another Hotel du Vin hit before too long.