Restaurant review - The Beacon, Dalton
Janet Wilson alights on a landmark meal at The Beacon at Dalton
Any restaurant styling itself The Beacon really ought to be a shining light among eateries – a clear indication of high standards and a conspicuous signal for others to recognise.
Rather amazingly The Beacon at Dalton does not disappoint.
Good food is high on the agenda at Amanda and Simon's new place, in fact everything at the Beacon is high, except the price.
Already in an elevated position near Ashurst Beacon, overlooking the Lancashire coastal plain and adjacent to the nearby height of Parbold Hill, the dining rooms at the converted pub are on the first floor (there is still a public bar at ground level serving Jennings bitter and a range of draught lagers) so that diners find themselves eating among the tree-tops.
The menu looks ambitious. The seared scallops starter, for a start.
Combining seafood with pancetta or black pudding is now almost de rigeur, but this one comes with both, and a helping of cumberland sausage for good measure.
Is it a seafood starter or a mixed grill, my husband wondered? He ordered it anyway, and was more than pleasantly surprised.
The bacon and sausage products were all there, as advertised, but playing discreet supporting roles to the star attraction of the scallops – fresh, plump and cooked just right.
Rather boringly I opted for the chicken liver parfait and toast, or at least my husband said I was being boring.
I always feel it is too easy to judge a restaurant by the fancy stuff. I imagine people will want to know what the bread and butter options are like too.
The Beacon's pate was excellent and there was plenty of toast, so it gets my vote straight away. I have been in too many places where you get half a pound of pate and one thin slice of bread, or vice versa, so that you either have to ask for more or leave half your starter sitting on its plate.
I happen to like pate, and if I return to the Beacon, which I may do sooner rather than later, I would happily order it again.
It was my husband's turn to be boring when it came to the choice of main meals.
Ribeye steak, chips, fried mushroom and onion rings. Adventurous or what? He wolfed the lot and said it was just what he wanted. He hadn't had any steak that week.
He is a bit like the husband in Shirley Valentine who doesn't like his meal rota to be interrupted. That's why I'm always nipping off to Greece for a bit of sunshine and romance.
But plenty of people do go to restaurants to eat steak and chips, he pointed out, using my own argument against me. They will want to know whether they can be recommended. They can.
I also recommend the medallions of pork fillet with chorizo tapenade and cheesy mashed potato.
To be honest I'm sure I would have enjoyed anything from the Beacon's extensive menu.
It is all freshly cooked – you can see into the kitchen – and efficiently served, and it is not often you can sit down in a charming dining room with pressed white tablecoths and eat so well for such a reasonable price.
Partly to keep the cost down and partly because we were both full, we opted to share a dessert, at which the waitress instantly offered us a spoon each.
The Dalton Mess (you have to order something with a name like that) was actually a little bit of a let-down. Too cloyingly creamy, not enough zesty fruit or crispy meringue. Next time I am going to order apple crumble, and to hell with being boring.
With a bottle of pinotage for an extremely reasonable 13.75 the bill came to 55.
At that price, the Beacon cannot be faulted. I'm not going to be obvious and say it will light up your life, but the very least it deserves is a glowing review.
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Weather for Preston
Friday 10 February 2012
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