The Appletree, Marton, near Pickering (From Gazette & Herald)

The Appletree, Marton, near Pickering

12:01pm Friday 9th November 2007

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The Appletree at Marton, near Pickering, has just been named the best pub in Britain for dining.

It's the latest accolade for the charming country inn, proudly sitting in one of the most picturesque spots in the county.

Owners Melanie and chef Trajan (or TJ as he prefers to be known) have been singled out by The Good Pub Guide for their "almost obsessive" focus on good ingredients - many of which they grow themselves - which are given "imaginative treatment" by TJ in the kitchen.

Praise was awarded too for genuinely helpful and friendly staff.

The sample menu on the website illustrates some of TJ's fancy fare: Twice-baked Yorkshire Blue cheese soufflé (£6); Quince jelly caramelised Jerusalem artichoke tart tatin with pesto cream cheese and home-dried tomatoes (£10); Roast fillet of hare (served medium rare) with butternut squash and redcurrant sauce (£13).

So, the Appletree is serious about food, but - as we happily discovered - doesn't take itself too seriously: an ideal combination.

The first thing that caught our attention on arrival was the white teddy on a table in the small bar area. Guests were invited to 'name the teddy' in aid of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. A list of pink drinks were chalked on a blackboard, with a percentage of each sale going to cancer charities, ditto for some dishes on the menu.

Landlady Melanie had also dyed her hair pink, raising £700 alone for good causes.

Needless to say, our five-year-old daughter Eva thought it was the best restaurant she'd ever been too. "What Mum, can we really have pink bread?"

The 'pink' bread was made with beetroot and was still hot when it arrived. It came with some equally just-baked bread rolls made with sloes and some cold slabs of unsalted butter. Our waitress also brought us free mineral water, a nice touch.

We all decided to skip starters - although it meant missing out on the likes of salad of Gubbeen cheese and quince with pear purée (£6) and smoked haddock, lemon and pea risotto (£6.50 or £13 for a main).

Each main course on the menu, which changes weekly, sounded tempting. Keeping with the pink theme, I picked roast salmon fillet on beetroot mash with lobster cream sauce (£14.50), my husband Nick chose the braised brisket of beef (£16) and my father-in-law Mike had partridge with red cabbage (£14). Although the Appletree runs an a la carte menu even at lunch time, on Saturdays it always offers 'Posh Fish And Chips', which was Eva's choice. There is no children's menu, but TJ is happy to cook small portions of the mains for a child.

The Appletree is almost warrenlike in design and tables are arranged over a couple of rooms, in alcoves and between partitions, which helps retain a sense of privacy and enhance the cosiness. There are deep sofas and comfy chairs to relax into too, with the papers at hand, making the notion of a quick exit simply out of the question.

We had to wait a while for our food but, when it arrived, our patience was rewarded. Silence descended as we began to eat. My salmon was a small rectangle of pinky-brown flesh, perfectly pan fried so it was crispy on the outside, but hot and silky beneath.

The beetroot mash was more tattie than beet, so not over sweet, which was perfect because the starring role was reserved for the lobster sauce. This was buttery and almost toffee-sweet with just a hint of the sea about it. It held the dish together beautifully and if TJ could package it, he would make a mint.

Nick's beef was no ordinary beef.

This was the finest Marton beef, supplied from 'Tubby' Turnball of Marton, and marinated for five days, then cooked in a low oven for 12 hours. It came crowned with red onion marmalade with horseradish cream on the side. It was outstanding. The meat was unbelievably tender. Cutting into it, the dark beef fell away in strings, and melted in the mouth.

Mike enjoyed his meal too. The partridge (from the Wintringham shoot), was light in colour and meaty in texture and flavour, like pork. The red cabbage with bacon and slow berry sauce was a perfect match. Our mains came with a side of roasted root vegetables.

Eva's Posh Fish And Chips were an equal hit. The 'posh' fish was woof, a lovely, fleshy white fish.

Appropriately, Eva woofed it down, along with chunky chips dipped in a mini tea cup of tomato ketchup.

For pudding, Nick picked orchard pear crumble with cardamom custard (£4.50), Mike opted for the Yorkshire treacle tart with lemon curd ice-cream (£6) while Eva and I chose from the all-at-£3 'Mini Desserts' section: the Boozy Cherry Trifle for me and for Eva, the irresistible-sounding Chocolate Pinkies (which were brownies made with strawberry chocolate and tasted like strawberry fudge).

All were lovely, although we still reserved our highest praise for our main courses. I liked the notion of the 'Mini Desserts', smaller-sized puddings which satisfy your sweet tooth without leaving you with a groaning girth.

To finish, we settled into the sofas, with the weekend papers, some strong coffee and delicious hand-made chocolates and fudge and used all our willpower to stop dropping off. Our bill, with one round of drinks, was £83.70, but we thought it was worth every penny.

Needless to say, we'll be dropping in to the Appletree again for second helpings.

The Appletree, Marton, North Yorkshire.

Tel: 01751 431 457

www.appletreeinn.co.uk Maxine visited on Saturday, October 27, 2007.

factfile

Food: DeliciousService: WelcomingValue: GoodAmbience: ComfyDisabled loos: YES

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