Externally, it is not the most impressive building – in fact, it's dull – a modern, characterless block.
Once inside, the reception area is warm, with thoughtful positioning of a welcome podium and settees to peruse the menu if you need to wait for a table.
But the main restaurant is not an easy room with which to fall in love. It is long, large and resembles a school canteen.
Efforts have been made to soften the harshness and abrupt angles – arty, local scenes hang in patches from the walls, blinds in the windows, plants dotted about – but more needs to be done to increase the intimacy of the experience – maybe tall planters or screens between tables.
We found ourselves peering at other people's plates instead of enjoying each other's company.
The main attraction is the wall of windows looking out to sea and the Farne Islands, shrouded in a romantic mist for our visit.
Menus were brought to our table and I felt just like a kid in a sweet shop – so many treats and only one choice per course to make. But instead of sweets, I had visions of prawns, smoked salmon, oysters, sea bass, crab, scallops and salmon swimming round my head vying for pole position.
Fish and seafood played a major role, as you would expect and the commitment to local food was only too apparent, with sourcing pinpointed where possible.
For example, they weren't any old oysters for starters (six for £5.95) – they were oysters from Ross Sands, near Holy Island; the halibut was caught by "local lad Davy Shiels"; the kipper pate fish cakes (a £4.95 starter) were made from kipper pate from Patrick at Swallow Fish; it was beef and Alnwick ale casserole (£8.50 main course).
The oil used in the cooking is Oleifera rapeseed oil and is available to purchase at £6.95 a bottle. This imagination and pledge to support the local economy should be applauded and rewarded.
There was a full range of prices – you could easily spend a fortune (especially if it was your wedding anniversary!) but choose wisely and you could taste the quality while not shocking the bank manager.
For example, you wouldn't grumble at stilton mushrooms to start (£5.25), followed by boneless cod caught off Amble in beer batter served with peas and fries (£6.95), then apple and rhubarb crumble (£3.95) for dessert.
But maybe you'd balk at the fish cake starter (£4.95), whole grilled lobster with a butter sauce and rice (£21) then homemade sponge pudding (£4.50), all washed down with a £15.50 bottle of Chilean Merlot wine and a cup of tea (£2) for good measure. My wife didn't – that was her choice.
I was only slightly more conservative with my moules marinieres (£6.25), the locally-caught roast halibut on sheet pasta, grilled asparagus and a passion fruit sauce (£15.95) and I shared the sponge pudding and custard.
We also had side orders of French fries and buttered spinach with goat's cheese sauce (£1.75 each).
Our starters set the standard – my mussels were soft, tender and oozed flavour. They were not in the slightest rubbery or gritty. They were cooked in a splendid white wine, garlic and cream sauce and finished with parsley.
A spoon and copious amounts of freshly baked French stick bread (replenished graciously on request) were used to make the most of the sauce. My dishes of discarded shells were attentively removed as I worked my way through the mountain of mussels.
My wife's fish cakes – the kipper pate mixed with halibut and salmon served on a lemon butter sauce – were equally enjoyed, the smoky infusion of the kippers blending well with the sauce.
We could easily have stopped there and gone home happy but our main courses topped the starters.
The halibut was pure quality – a delicious fillet of bright, white fish, so fresh it was almost moving. The asparagus was grilled to perfection – my tastebuds were in heaven.
The spinach side order was very rich thanks to the goat's cheese sauce, and quite chewy.
Our table resembled that of a dentist, with all the various implements my wife was handed to prise the lobster meat from its shell. But the effort was certainly worthwhile – there can be no finer flavour than lobster claw meat.
I have to confess I couldn't resist a smash-and-grab raid as I helped with the operation.
While seafood platters (£24.95 for one and £49 for two), including lobster, crab, tiger prawns, oysters, mussels and prawns, are an obvious speciality, meat lovers were also well catered for, with fillet steak (£18.95), Seafield beef burger (£9.95), gammon steak (£8.95), calves liver (£12.95), grilled breast of chicken (£12.25) and beef hash (£8.95) among the offerings.
Vegetarians only had two choices – wild mushrooms in blue cheese sauce (£8.50) and grilled asparagus tips (£8.50).
Children had their own menu at £5.95 for main course (chicken goujons, fish bites, ham/cheese salad or pasta or sausage and mash) and dessert (chocolate fudge cake, ice cream or mandarin segments).
We probably should have stopped there rather than try to force down a dessert, but it had been a splendid evening, delightfully cooked food and well presented, paying particular homage to the farmers and fishermen of our county. You'll go a long way to find a better meal.