Hjem: The Northumberland restaurant fully booked until June

Such is the demand for tables at Restaurant Hjem, in the village of Wall, near Hexham, that three months of bookings were recently snapped up in just four hours, with Friday and Saturday night services between April and June selling out in just 10 minutes.

Restaurant manager, Ally Thompson, who runs the restaurant and adjoining pub, The Hadrian, with her partner and Hjem head chef Alex Nietosvuori, said: “We were expecting there to be a lot of demand when we opened the bookings for April through to June, but it was quite overwhelming to see how many people were waiting to get their table booked!

“We’ve been continually delighted by the warm welcome we’ve received from diners across the North East and beyond, and we’re looking forward to welcoming more and more of them to Hjem in the coming months.”

Since opening in May 2019, it has gained entries in both The Good Food Guide 2020 and The Michelin Guide 2020 and rave reviews - including one from The Sunday Times’ Marina O’Loughlin.

Combining the best local produce with Scandinavian values and cooking techniques, the 24-cover restaurant has attracted food lovers from all over the North East and far beyond thanks to the kind of exquisite tasting menus people are willing to travel for.

Hjem was named Restaurant of the Year at the Living North Awards in November and has been shortlisted for the Taste of the North East Award at the North East Tourism Awards 2020.

The restaurant, also boasts a 100% five-star record on consumer review site TripAdvisor.

It seems the only complaint anyone has about Hjem is not being able to get a table.

Ally added: “We’re encouraging anyone who wasn’t able to get a table to put themselves on the waiting list as there are always unavoidable cancellations as people’s plans change.”

To find out more – or get yourself on the waiting list – visit www.restauranthjem.co.uk or call 01434 681232.