Eating Out with the Phoenician Trader: Shoulder of Mutton
Created | Updated Feb 20, 2011
Shoulder of Mutton: England's Answer to the Route 66
Just to the left of England's answer to the US Interstate Route 66 is a small hamlet called Kirby Hill. For reasons best left unexplored, on this great isle when you get one town with an odd name, it is often paired within 5 miles with another town with the same name. You want the one between Richmond and the Coast to Coast A66.
The Shoulder of Mutton is a hotel/pub. The village is a large, grassy, traditional square with farm buildings on three sides and the pub and church on the other. The 12th Century church isn't much to look at and neither is the village, but there are few villages left unaltered in the traditional medieval pattern and the powers that be have deliberately decided not pave the road inside the square. The village feels rustic, it is and all in all this is a good thing.
We all stayed in the rooms in the hotel for a long weekend and in the evenings ate in the restaurant. At first my female companion was disconcerted that the extensive menu seemed heavy of the meaty comestibles. A simple enquiry brought the other menu – just as long and imaginative – but entirely vegetarian.
It turns out the owners have been doing the professional catering thing for years at some fairly classy establishments and wanted to stay in the industry doing what they do well, but without the grief. So the kitchen is run superbly but without the flamboyant swearing (except when things go wrong I suspect) and the front of house is attentive but stress free largely staffed by local students. One of the pair of owners is a strict vegetarian which is why the place has several menus with so much for everybody.
I couldn't really tell you much about what we ate over the days we were there – we loved it, shared tastes and generally enjoyed ourselves. The wine list had some really nice things on it, some at about about 2/3rds the price you see in cities like London. The ambiance was nearly all local with a few hotel guests like us. The venue is traditional pub with over-heavy furniture and a tad too much red plush, but then it is a traditional country pub. It is a good place to stay to go north to the wall, explore some of the best abbey ruins in the UK and to go to Wensleydale in search of cheese.
It is a real gem, saved by being overrun by tourists because of its location. If you don't believe me, try and find it on a map!
Getting There: Take the A66 from Darlington and turn left at Kirby Hill
Who should eat there: Those who like good beer and good food.
Dining Style: Decent pub.
Price: Allow £20pp depending on what you choose to drink.
Quality: Well worth it.
Would I go Back: No question - but getting to Kirby Hill is the hitch.
