The Majestic Theatre on Bondgate in Darlington is under new management and is going from strength to strength – filling the void left when the old Art’s Centre was closed. One night shows for families and adults alike are filling the diary. The Bondgate Players have adopted the Majestic as their new home and are performing Allo Allo on stage from 8 June. The theatre also continues to showcase the talented students on the Performing Arts course from the college – and their end of year show is High School Musical from 30 June.
Today, however, we were reviewing the gorgeous new Majestic Bistro. The food has been designed around it’s theatrical settings in the heart of the Theatre it sits in, with luxurious lighting, ambient music, stunning bars and its 1920’s Modern Art Deco interior.
Armed with my hard to please sons – one of whom is training to be a chef and the other who is gluten free we went off to investigate. The menu, which you might call modern British, features small, often complex dishes.
For our starter we shared the Whole Baked Studded Camembert and Antipasti Vegetables with warm bread and tomato chutney. With an extra portion of gluten free bread. The cheese was beautiful and creamy and the bread tasted like it was fresh from the oven. The antipasti vegetables were perfectly pickled without being acidic. The portion happily fed the three of us with filling us too full so we could still enjoy the main course.
The mains were served with a nice gap from the starter aiding digestion. We had a chance to enjoy a drink from the well stocked bar and have a chat as the music played in the background.
My boys each had a burger. My youngest had the 8oz Classical Steak Mince Burger and my oldest the 8oz Steak Mince Chilli and Blue Cheese Burger – both served with chunky chips and whole grain house salad. Perfectly portioned meals without over-facing the diner. My choice was the Braised Lamb Shank, Bubbly Cabbage, Creamy Pomme Purée and Red Wine Jus. A stunningly beautiful meal mixed the luxurious with the humble all working harmoniously together. Nothing was put on the plate haphazardly; all the ingredients have equal billing. If we can agree that food is fundamentally about flavour, it’s all here on one plate. With my son declaring that his burger was the best he had ever tasted.
Dessert followed and once again we were presented with food that was beautiful to look at and to taste. I chose the Chocolate Brownie without cream or ice cream. Son number 2 the Hot Chocolate Fudge Cake with Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream and son number 1 had a mixture of the Madagascan Ice Cream and Honeycomb Ice Cream. It was the nicest dessert I had tasted in a long time, my sons were equally as complimentary about their desserts the chocolate fudge cake and brownie,were suitably rich without being sickly. As a chocolate fan I was in food heaven.
The Majestic is a quietly ambitious bistro that deserves the acclaim that should be coming its way, bringing a new style of unpretentious fine dining to foodies. The staff didn’t hover around our table constantly but was efficient and knowledgeable on the food we ordered. One of the chefs came out and presented some dishes to our table and was detailed in his descriptions.
The relaxed unpretentious feel of this place together with the tremendous skill at work in the kitchen means this place doesn’t need to talk up its credentials. And what’s more it is oh so stunningly priced. My first visit gives every inkling that if Mattie, Ellis and the talented team continue in this vein, The Majestic Bistro could well emulate the heady heights of its nearby counterparts.
To book for shows or the Bistro contact the team on Tel: 01325 482848
http://www.majestic-theatre.co.uk/