NEVER let it be said that I don't know how to have a good time ... "Let's go somewhere a bit posh, but cheap," I said.
With the kids out of the country, would you believe, there was an all too rare chance for Mr and Mrs R to eat out somewhere nice, without the little darlings rushing things along.
A friend had already suggested The Treebridge Hotel, just off the Stokesley Road in old Nunthorpe.
"Isn't that a bit posh?" said I.
"Yes, but it's lovely, so it is," she assured me in her charming Ulster brogue.
A peruse of the website looked promising and then I hit the cheapskate's equivalent of three numbers on the Lottery.
"Hi-tea special, £12.95 three courses." OK then, Treebridge it is.
We arrived at 6.25pm and as we made our way in, veered left towards the surprisingly bustling bar.
If a place is busy, they say it's a good sign, so this augured well.
"We don't serve fast food, we serve fresh food as fast as we can."
Not my words but theirs, chalked proudly on a sign at the back of the bar.
I've been in places where that sort of disclaimer was just an excuse to go slow.
So it was with a sense of slight foreboding that we made our way through the bar to the nicely furnished dining section - all clean lines and chairs with high backs.
Thankfully, we needn't have worried because the various courses arrived within respectable gaps of each other.
First up for me was a bowl of hearty broccoli, stilton, ham and coriander soup.
Broccoli? Coriander? Two of my five a day already!
Apart from one too many shakes of the chef's salt cellar, it was an enjoyable affair.
Marianne went for something fishy - smoked haddock and spring onion fishcake on crunchy leaf, drizzled with sweet chilli sauce - and very tasty it was too. I know because, in the interests of research, I had a nibble.
Then I nibbled her main course too, the fairly plain sounding but really quite satisfying "chicken breast in diane sauce".
A decent piece of chicken in a big white dish, swimming in a muddy brown sauce, the fowl was tender and its covering had enough bite to avoid allegations of plainness.
I'm usually a meat and two veg man myself - stop it - so the roast beef and Yorkshire pud was tempting, but I plumped instead for the more subtle Scottish salmon fillet with garlic and crayfish butter.
The salmon was a little squidgy, to be honest - yes, that is a technical term - but it was still enjoyable, although my automatic pilot request for chips instead of potatoes was my own moment of madness.
Puds were both chocolatey - I had cake with mousse and vanilla custard, the boss had hers with pouring cream and a raspberry dressing.
At the end of a satisfying meal, the bill proved even more palatable.
If you want to push the boat out a bit, the restaurant's adjacent and some of the food looked like it justified the higher prices.
For a value-for-money tea with a touch of quality, though, the Treebridge is a very decent bet.
OUR ORDER
Two hi-tea specials: £12.95 each
Coffee, drinks: £18.05
Total: £43.95
Verdict ****
Written by Dave Robson September 2008
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