Wylam Restaurant Guide

2022 Review: A “super-friendly and efficient” stone-fronted country boozer, where chef Paul Johnson (a Nathan Outlaw alum) delivers a “great menu selection” that saw it walk off with a CAMRA Pub of the Year accolade not too long ago.

2023 Review: Chef-owner Rhian Cradock, who took over the 200-year-old drovers’ inn 15 years ago, has long been ahead of the curve as a champion of “locally sourced quality food”, sustainability and ethical practices – and his prices are generous, too. A “fantastic village pub – it serves the locals well while consistently turning out high-quality dishes”: “the produce and the care that goes into their production is amazing”.

Scheduled for a late 2025 opening, a modern Scandi-style restaurant to be built in the walled garden of Close House in the Tyne Valley, now part of a golf course. It's from the high-achieving owners of Hjem in Wall – Swedish chef Alex Nietosvuori and his Northumberland-born partner Ally Thompson – who will work their magic on produce from the garden and meat, game and fish from within a 30-mile radius.

In the multi-tasking (shop, eat, stay) Vallum Farm complex near Hadrian’s Wall, and occupying an old cow barn, there’s “lots to love” about this “absolutely amazing” venture, which was set up by Cal Byerley and partner Siân Buchan several years back. Together the duo delivers a “fantastic experience”, from Cal’s “ever-developing and sophisticated”, Nordic-inspired tasting menus, fuelled by produce from the kitchen garden and Northumberland countryside, to Vanessa’s “incredible” matching wines.