Dining with the brilliant Barretts at The Bay Horse, Ravensworth

Ordinarily, there is always a degree, a minor frisson, of jeopardy when entering a new venue, or an old one under new ownership, that it will be good, bad or indifferent. That’s the point of this column.

But I knew that the Bay Horse at Ravensworth, north of Richmond, would be a good bet on account of the people behind it.

Adrian and Gill Barrett have been round the hospitality block a few times in these parts and everywhere they have stopped off has been a success.

The list (by no means comprehensive I might add) of successful Barrett enterprises stretches back many years – 30 or more I think – taking in the Hack and Spade at Whashton (now no more), the Bowes Museum café, the Arden Arms at Atley Hill (also now no more), the Fox Hall Inn, East Layton, Overton House Café at Reeth (deceased too) and, most recently, Barrett’s Bistro in Richmond.

Eating Out at The Bay Horse, in Ravensworth

With impeccable timing they sold Barrett’s just before the pandemic wreaked havoc on the sector but now they are back and working with their daughter Hayley and her partner Sam.

This family affair bought the Bay Horse in September last year and set about a major four-month refurbishment. It re-opened a few weeks into the new year with Sam and Hayley heading up the show.

The refurb is quite clever. It’s a top-to-toe job but somehow doesn’t look like it. The traditional village inn appeal is retained. It looks smart but not too smart. So flashily attired dinner guests can walk in and feel comfortable as well as the muddy-booted walkers and their dogs.

There’s a front bar/sitting/dining area and a slightly more formal dining room to the rear with an attractive-looking garden beyond.

Sam was running things behind the bar, Gill (who is also an acclaimed pastry chef) was covering front-of-house while Hayley was in the kitchen helping dad.

Eating Out at The Bay Horse, in Ravensworth

Like all Barrett menus, the Bay Horse offers the sort of dishes served up in pubs everywhere, but there are subtle twists which hint at the capacity of the kitchen to do things a little differently – like the grilled Doreen’s black pudding served with haggis fritter and onion marmalade (£8.50) or the boeuf bourguignon pie with mushy peas and creamed potato (£16.95).

In the middle of the Easter gorge fest, we were mindful of the need to exercise some dietary discretion so we didn’t give the menu the work-out it deserved, restricting ourselves to a shared starter and two main courses.

The asparagus salad (£7.95) is a dish that has appeared on Barrett menus in the past and it’s a belter.

I know it’s probably a bit odd to some to get excited about a salad but this just worked so well.

It was new season char-grilled English asparagus (it is very early this year thanks to a benign winter), with slivers of courgette, slow-roasted tomato, lettuce, crumbled feta and a herby lemon dressing. A perfect combination of freshness, texture and piquancy from the cheese and dressing.

Sylvia’s chicken dish (£16.95) was an immaculately char-grilled breast marinated in garlic and thyme and served with a rocket, spinach and Parmesan salad with fries. She had opted for some garlic butter instead of the Stilton sauce and declared the whole thing superb.

My gratin of cod, smoked haddock and king prawn thermidor (£18.95) was essentially a luxurious fish pie but without the creamed mashed potato which often turns a fish pie into something impossibly rich and over-facing. The thermidor sauce meant less carbs but more lobster/fishy flavour.

It was served with new potatoes and another fantastic salad – French beans, lemon and hazelnuts.

It is these classic culinary combinations which lie at the heart of what makes the food prepared by the Barrett family so enduringly good, founded in Adrian’s training at London’s Savoy Hotel and experience at Gleneagles.

Because we skipped desserts (I hope you are impressed by our iron will) we missed out on Gill’s pastry chef skills this time but we saw some splendid-looking creations being served to other diners.

Service was perfect but I did think that Gill had “clocked” us when we arrived. Having said that, I don’t think anyone else that evening received service that was in any way different.

Our bill was just over £60 which included a couple of glasses of the house wines and a half-pint of Wensleydale Brewery’s Semerwater ale (there were other real ales available including Theakston’s Old Peculier).

The Barrett’s are back – to their brilliant best.

The Bay Horse

Ravensworth, Richmond DL11 7ET

Tel: 01325 494437

Web: thebayhorseravensworth.co.uk

Open (full menu) Friday, Saturday (5-10pm) and Sunday (noon-3pm). Dine-in or takeaway fish and chips available 5-8pm Wednesday and Thursday. Closed Monday and Tuesday.

Ratings (out of ten): Food quality 10 Service 10 Surroundings 9 Value for money 10