Pine

Pine is at one with the land around it. Whether that be upland farms, foraged wildernesses or their own lovingly tended market garden, the integrity and authenticity of this remarkable set-up from chefs Cal Byerley and Ian Waller is evident everywhere you look. Recently extended with a cosy bar and lounge (cocktails and coffees by the wood burner are a popular option) and with hygge cabins now available for overnight stays on Vallum Farm itself, the restaurant continues on its upward curve. Floor-to-ceiling windows in the dining room overlook rolling farmland, but diners at the eight simple tables are subtly oriented towards the gleaming open kitchen. Opening salvos among the 18 or so courses are well-paced, the array of ingredients and techniques delivering a cornucopia of colour and flavour: a mouthful of mackerel with sugar kelp, pickled rhubarb and borage in a tiny dumpling; a creamy mousse of Berwick Edge cheese topped with infused and slow-dried carrot ‘jerky’ and clarified horseradish gel, for example. You might also be treated to slivers of full-flavoured, home-cured pork neck and a stunning raw scallop infused with its own roe, fermented plum, rhubarb and fennel pollen. A generous warm sourdough loaf made with local einkorn wheat (plus sunflower petals and seeds from the garden) comes with emerald herb butter and an ochre rapeseed emulsion, offering a spectacular intermission before the main act. Dishes such as perfectly rendered pork jowl, slow-cooked over fire with sweetcorn broth, chervil oil and pickled wild garlic 'capers', or impeccably timed monkfish with fermented fennel allow you to simply sit back and savour. Desserts conjure innovative combinations of uber-local flora including delicate rowan-shoot iced cream with fresh cobnut crunch and salted gooseberry slivers. An iPad lists idiosyncratic but well-judged wine options and dazzling mixology, with a particular flair for alcohol-free choices. However, this is not a place of hushed reverence – more a lively gathering of food aficionados exchanging tasters and reactions with laughter and happy sighs. From its ‘calling card’ (a simple sprig of spruce) to the working displays of dried and fermenting products, this is food as art – shared and celebrated in a familial and joyous atmosphere.

Siân Buchan and Cal Byerley’s Northumberland restaurant had a sensational debut year, winning a Michelin star just nine months after it opened in 2021 and being described by The Sunday Times’ Marina O’Loughlin as ‘life affirming’. Located in an old cow barn, it might not sound like the most glamorous of locations, but with a complete overhaul and with views over the Northumberland landscape and Hadrian’s Wall it’s a dining room that more than delivers on the visuals. It’s a tactile environment of light woods and furs with the room taking on an almost ethereal warm glow as the sun sets through its large window for a truly bucolic dining experience. The theatre of nature extends to what’s on the plate with Pine chefs Byerley and Ian Waller serving an almost 20-course procession of dishes, many of which use ingredients foraged from the Northumberland countryside or grown within the restaurant’s own kitchen garden. The cooking is progressive, using techniques such as preserving, fermenting and ageing to full effect, but never feels overwrought. Uniquely for a restaurant such as Pine, during the day service switches to a three-tier afternoon tea offer with a modern twist. Here custard tarts and madeleines featuring foraged ingredients sit with crustless sandwiches and savoury caneles. In short, Pine is a restaurant you’ll need to visit at least twice to really get to grips with what it’s about.