WE arrived to the strains of Boney M's Daddy Cool.

I couldn't argue with the sentiment of the song but had to explain to the children who Boney M were!

It was warming background music as we were the first to descend for our Easter Sunday feast and the restaurant was deserted at 12.30pm as the blizzards closed in.

But we were not Billy No Mates for long before the masses arrived and the music was completed drowned out – no need for artificial atmosphere!

The hotel was clean enough, toilets immaculate, but the décor was dated – red carpet, matching plush velour benches and seats, mock mahogany shelves and an avalanche of pictures large and small.

Wall lights and table lamps abound, with spotlights in a part-tiled ceiling completing the lighting. A gas fire with flickering flame at least gave the impression of a real fire.

It was comfortable and homely but could do with modernisation. Staff were attentive, friendly and smiling throughout our meal – how refreshing.

The Dunstanburgh Castle Hotel's commitment to local food is evident on the menu, with regular references to produce from the region. All meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, bread and dairy products are bought from small, local suppliers, according to menu.

Prices are accordingly not the cheapest you'll find but you are paying for the quality of ingredients.

The choice of Sunday roasts was chicken (£7.50), loin of Cheviot lamb (£12.95) and silverside of beef (£7.50), all served with roast tatties, vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and gravy.

But the Sunday roast menu was only part of the story. There is a full lunch selection available.

So for starters, we could have had home-made vegetarian soup (tomato and vegetable, in this case) for £3.95; garlic mushrooms on toasted Rothbury bread (£4.95); Northumbrian farmhouse pâté served with salad leaves and home-made chutney (£4.95); duo of Northumbrian cheeses (£5.25); or Seahouses smoked salmon roulade (£5.95).

The main courses ranged from stuffed breast of chicken with Stilton sauce (£9.25) and 10oz Northumbrian sausage (£9.25) to fillet of cod or haddock in breadcrumbs (£8.50) and Loch Duart salmon Hollandaise (£7.95).

For vegetarians, there was vegetable tart with Doddington cheese (£7.50) or three-bean vegetarian chilli (£7.50).

Children were offered half-portions of most dishes, or for the less adventurous, chicken nuggets or fish fingers.

Despite being warned that we may have to wait for our meals as everything is freshly cooked, the food was soon in front of us.

I had opted for the smoked salmon roulade and my wife the garlic mushrooms. The children had spent the morning pigging out on chocolate eggs, so they skipped starters.

Warm bread rolls and triangular pats of butter would have softened any delay and certainly kept the kids quiet!

The roulade, made especially for the hotel by Swallow Fish of Seahouses, was mouth-wateringly delicious. It was not the bland, smooth, over-cheesy filling of mass-produced roulades, but more a heady mix of cream cheese and fresh salmon, with the emphasis on the latter.
The mushrooms, too, were freshly-prepared and sautéed in garlic, parsley butter and cream served on locally-baked wholemeal bread – quite something!

I would challenge anyone to eat these entrees without closing their eyes to savour the taste and uttering the immortal "mmmmm".
So to the roasts. Again the wait was by no means intolerable and before long we were faced with the most impressive Yorkshire puddings – they were enormous and wildly misshapen.

Freshly-carved meat, roast potatoes and proper gravy also adorned the plates.

The accompanying vegetable were carrots, cabbage, new potatoes and curiously, chips – perhaps paying homage to the children.
The roasties were the real deal – no artificial, frozen or flame-grilled cheats here – and the meat, lamb and beef, was tender and full of flavour.

We requested, and duly received, extra gravy.

Our vegetables were perfectly-cooked, the carrots, especially, retaining a slight crunch.

If only we had been brought another vegetable, say broccoli, instead of the chips, we would have been in Sunday roast heaven!

Desserts, at £3.95, were a tempting selection of mainly cold offerings, including chocolate and ginger cheesecake, lemon meringue pie, ice creams and sorbets. The hot sweet was apple crumble, or there was farmhouse cheeses and biscuits (£4.95).

It was a cold day and I needed no further excuse to plump for the crumble and custard, a lovely mix of sweet and tart.

My wife's cheesecake was a lesson in presentation – all dusting, drizzling, sprinkling and quirky angles. The dish itself did not disappoint, particularly if you are a fan of rich, chocolatey, deep cheesecake.

The children were suffering chocolate overkill and were quite happy to watch their parents indulge themselves!

It had been an entirely satisfying meal, accompanied throughout by a pint of Black Sheep ale, Guinness and two lemonades.

Our food bill came to just under £40, with drinks bumping it up to £46.05.

STAR RATINGS (out of five)
Quality of food 4
Choice 4
Vegetarian choice 3
Value for money 3
Atmosphere 3
Service 3.5
Children catered for 3.5
Disabled access 3
(accessible side entrance)
Disabled toilet No
Overall experience 4
Verdict: A good, locally-sourced meal served with a smile.

Contact details: Dunstanburgh Castle Hotel, Embleton, Alnwick, Northumberland NE66 3UN. Tel: 01665 576111; website: www.dunstanburghcastlehotel.co.uk