20CITYLIVINGWherei
s
it:
At
the
bottom
end
of
Osborne
Road
on t
he
former
siteo
fOldfields
restaurant.
First
Impressions:
This
fledg
ing r
estaurant
is
son
ew,
finding
any
information
about
it
proved
a t
ask.
The w
ebsite w
asn8217
t
yet
upand r
unning
,so w
ecalled t
o
enquireabout
the s
tyle
of
cuisine.
"French" w
e w
erei
nformed.
"Do
you
havealunch t
ime s
pecialm
enu?"
Ienquired.
"Idon8217
t
kno
w."
Came t
he
reply.
I8217m
hoping
it
wasn8217
t
amember
of
staff w
ho
answ
ered t
he
phone.
Kno
wing
one8217
s
menu
is
the
least
you8217d
expect.
The
doubts
that
hadcrept
in
wereq
uickly
erased w
hen w
ee
ntered
the
large s
tylish r
estaurant.After
a
warmg
reeting
from t
he
Maitred
8217,
we w
ere s
ho
wn t
oo
ur
pleasant
windo
w
seat.Just
tw
oo
ther
tables
wereo
ccupied,yet
the
place r
etained
a w
armand r
elaxing
atmosphere.
Style
,design
and
fur
nishings:
Ha
vin
gn
ever
visited
Oldfields,I
can8217
t
comme
nt
on
ho
w
much t
he
restaurant
has
changed
d233cor-wise.
What
Ic
an s
ay
ho
wever,is
that
we
werep
art
icularly
impressed.
The
light
and
airy
r
estaurant
tastefully
blends
contemporary
and
traditional s
tyling.
Adramatic
mezzanine s
tyle
glass
and s
teel
balcon
y
dominates
the s
pace,a
nd
is
strangely
complimented
by
period w
ood
panelling
painted
in
eart
hy
tones.
Incontrast
to t
he
dark w
ood
floo
ring
and
fur
niture,the t
ables
were
simply
dressed
in
crisp w
hitel
inen
complete w
ithf
reshf
lo
wers
.Therei
s
alsoa s
mall s
tage
complete w
ithp
iano
and
aprivated
ining
area u
pstairs
.
Cuisine:
Like t
he
d233cor
the
lunchm
enu
is
simple y
et
effective,withac
hoiceo
f
just
five s
tart
ers
and
mains.Despite
being s
mall,it8217s
perfectly
formed
and
ca
ters
for
meat
and
fishl
overs
,a
s
well
as
vegetarians.
For
start
ers
Iopted
for
the s
eared
red
mullet
with v
egetables
8216ala
Grecque8217
(vegetables
cooked
in
oil
and
water
withh
erbflavousings.)
The
fish
was
perfectly
cooked w
ithalight
crispy
skin,while t
he
delica
tely
presented
vegetables
hadab
it
of
akick,a
nd
provided t
he
perfect
contrast.
My
dining
companion
beat
me t
o
it,a
nd
chose t
he r
oast
tomato s
oup
with t
apenade
and
goats
cheese
croutons.This
ample
bowl w
as
brimming w
ith s
teaming
hot
creamy
soup,a
nd
came t
opped w
ithalarge
sliceo
f t
oasted
Frenchbread w
ith
lashings
of r
ichcheese.
For
mains
wecommitted t
he
cardinal s
in
of r
estaurant
reviewing
and
chose t
he s
ame
dish-
w
hole
grilled
plaice w
ithbrown s
hrimp
and
pars
ley
butter.
Our
side
order
of
fries
wasn8217
t
really
needed
as
the
port
ions
were
huge.
The
large
pieces
of
fish w
ere
beautifully
crispo
n t
he
outside,moist
on t
he
inside
and
peppered w
ith
prawns.The
pars
ley
butter
added
a
nice t
wist,b
ut
wasn8217
t
overpo
wering.
The
fish w
as
serv
ed w
ith
perfectly
cooked
Jers
ey
Royal
potatoes
withadelicious
garlic
dressing
,a
nd
ab
owlo
f s
easonalcrisp
vegetables
each.
Other
mains
included
confit
of
spring
lamb w
ithg
arden
herbs,
broccoli
and
bluecheese t
art
w
ith
toasted
hazelnuts,a
nd
chargrilled
lemon
and r
osemary
chicken
Caesar
salad.
Though
delicious,the
port
ion
was
slightly
on t
he
large s
ide
for
me,
and
I s
tr
uggled t
oclear
my
plate.
Idid
manage t
o s
queezei
n
dessert
ho
wever!We s
hared
a
rhubarb t
rifle w
ith s
hort
bread
fingers
.It
was
the
perfect
medley
of
creamand s
ponge,withm
ixed
fru
its
and
layers
of t
angy
rhubarb.
Drinks:
Weo
pted
for
the
cheapest
bottle
of
red
on t
he
menu,which w
as
a
reasonable 163
12.50.
Serv
ice:
Our
order
was
prompt
ho
wever
it
was
agood
10-15
minutes
beforeo
ur
bottle
of w
ine
arr
ived.
The
food w
as
serv
ed
at
anicel
eisurely
pace,yet
our
empty
plates
werel
eft
alittle t
oo
long
beforebeing
collected.
Wealso
had t
o w
ait
a w
hile
for
the
bill.
This
would
havebeen
acceptable
dur
ing
ab
usy
sitting
,yet
withj
ust
three t
ables,this
was
slightly
fru
strating.
On t
he
positive s
ide,the
staff w
eree
xtremely
pers
onable.
Va
lue:
The
lunchm
enu
costs
16312.50
for
tw
ocour
ses,a
nd 163
15
for
three
cour
ses.
Given t
he v
enue,quality
of
food,
and t
he s
izeo
f t
he
port
ions,T
he
Cherr
y
Tree
is
great
valuef
or
money.
Our
bill,with w
ine,c
ame t
o 163
46.
Verdict:
For
a r
estaurant
that
is
still
finding
its
roots,T
he
Cherr
y
Tree
is
cert
ain t
o
beas
successfulas
its
predecessor.
Analtogether
fru
ity
little
number82301LU
NCH
hr
Address:
9Osborne
Road,J
esmond
Tel:(0191) 2
39-9924
THE
CHERRY
TREE
IN
JESMOND
IS
ALL
SET
TO
BL
OS
SOM,
SA
YS
FRANCESCA
CRAGGSTHE
CHERR
YT
REE
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