Jesmond Dene House, Jesmond Dene Road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE2 2EY, Tel: 0191 212 3000 TUCKING into great grub while listening to the dulcet tones of jazz and funk music is the recipe for a fun night out. That’s what I discovered when I headed down to Jesmond Dene House, an historic building set in the luscious green-leafed surroundings of, you guessed it, Jesmond Dene. The mastermind of chef Terry Laybourne, the House is an impressive bolt-hole of luxury that as well as being a restaurant, is also an hotel. The Jazz evenings, which take place every month, are held in the Great Hall, a dark-wood-pannelled room with high ceilings, Gothic windows and a carved inglenook fireplace. But while the hotel and restaurant is of high standard it is not one of those stuck-up places that makes you feel uncomfortable. The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly, you can dress as casual as you like and the staff are attentive without being over-powering. The tables in the Great Hall are set out in a semi-circle with the main focus being the fireplace, in front of which the band plays. This means everyone gets a good view. Our entertainment for the evening was The Mac Francis Quintet, a worthy band of musicians who perform improvised and ‘Swing Jazz' classics in their own style. It’s great fun to be able to eat a meal while watching a band. It was like taking a step back in time to the New York jazz scene of the 40s and 50s – only this time with a modern twist. And so on to the food. I’m not usually one for choosing soup as a starter but my head was turned by the cauliflower soup with spiced curry. It was just the right temperature and the interesting blend of flavours worked really well. My mam, who was dining with me, chose citrus marinated salmon, mustard and watercress which got a firm thumbs up from her. For our main course I opted for rainbow trout with saute potatoes and spinach while mam could not resist the roasted leg of lamb, fine French beans and oven dried tomatoes. Normally I would have picked the lamb in a flash but it came with olives and I can’t stand them. Mam loved the mixture of tastes though and said the meat was cooked to perfection. The fish was equally as tasty, not too dry or salty, and the bed of spinach gave it an extra kick. By the time dessert came round I was wondering how I was going to find room. Faced with a choice of ginger-infused creme brulee or rhubarb crumble and vanilla ice cream there was no way we were going home dessert-free. We sampled both and they were divine. Jazz evenings are not usually my thing but I found it was a great way of spending a Friday evening and perfect for a special treat.
Jazz evening is £35 per person for three courses. Live music from 9pm. Next, August 30.
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