This month we visited Chequers Restaurant inside Northop Hall Country House Hotel, nestled in nine acres of private woodland and secluded gardens, Northop Hall Country House Hotel is a beautifully restored Victorian mansion in the heart of North Wales. Built-in 1872 by the Watkinson family, the property retains many of its original features including exquisite stained glass windows, a sweeping Canadian pine staircase, intricately panelled walls and grand period fireplaces. The name Chequers was inspired by a historic local motor race which took place close to the hotel, the restaurant has built a strong reputation for quality, excellence and innovation and offers a wide array of seasonally inspired dishes.
Upon entering the hotel, the imposing staircase immediately makes a grand first impression, we were then directed towards the Chequers restaurant where we are greeted by the lovely waitress Georgia who escorted us to our table which was in front of a large beautiful bay windows overlooking the immaculate manicured grounds. We were left to peruse the menu whilst our drinks were swiftly brought to the table with a refreshing jug of ice cold water to accompany our wine, Georgia kindly informed us of the specials board which is as you walk in and is full of starters, mains and desserts that have an incredible 50% discount throughout the week. After looking at the menu we were both quick to decide on which starters to go for, Reg plumped for
Sticky Sausages and I chose Chinese style Crispy Duck. The presentation on arrival was exquisite. The Sausages were really Moorish and were covered in a sticky Sweet Chilli and BBQ sauce. The Chinese style Crispy Duck was dressed with a sweet yet salty Hoi sin sauce and then mixed with green salad and shredded spring onion to finish, it was then aesthetically placed upon a toasted wrap and may I add absolutely beautiful even nicer than an authentic Chinese restaurant starter!
For main course Reg decided to not go with his favourite Steak and Chips and try something new, I suggested the Pan Fried Duck as he never has this and he was extremely impressed. The Duck was pan fried perfectly with crispy skin on the outside and pink and tender in the middle, it was also complemented beautifully with a rich Rosemary jus. It was then served with dauphinoise potatoes, Crispy Kale, Buttered Kale and seasonal vegetables. I was equally impressed with my choice which was Pan Fried Salmon this was also cooked to perfection and had a really tasty herby crust on the top which gave the Salmon a lovely crispy taste against the soft flaky salmon. This was served with a homemade Dill and Chive potato cake and then accompanied with seasonal vegetables and lightly drizzled in a delicate white wine and dill cream sauce. We were also given extra pots of the sauces which was a really nice touch especially if you
prefer plenty of sauce on your meal and not just drizzled.
We were asked if we were going to indulge in a dessert, when looking through the menu we decided we could not resist sharing the Cheesecake of the day which was a Cadbury’s Flake Cheesecake which was served with Vanilla ice cream. This was homemade and absolutely scrumptious we were sorry we had shared one and promised next time we would definitely be having one each.
Thank you to the Chequers restaurant for a spectacular meal from the surroundings being beautiful, to the wonderful waitress Georgia who really could not do enough for us and is a credit to the restaurant, to the amazing tasty food which is all prepared fresh using seasonal ingredients and presented exceptionally in A l carte style but at reasonable pub grub prices.
The Chequers really is a treat and has 5 stars from Inside Flintshire Magazine.
