IF first impressions count for much, you would not by impressed by Gabrielle’s. The Italian restaurant is in an unprepossessing 1970s brick quick-build with a later extension clagged on the side, and it is down a back street off Newgate Street, where old buildings have been pulled down and their foundations tarmacked over and replaced with scratty little car parks.
Reassuringly, there are streetlights.
We visited last Friday evening. A thunderous storm had passed, swamping Darlington so that council workmen stood welly-deep on a corner trying to unblock a drain, and it had left Bishop Auckland swimming in a swampy atmosphere, humid and threatening.
Inside Gabrielle’s, there was a noisy hubbub of humanity – 60 or so diners in couples, foursomes of friends and large family parties. They were talking, shouting, laughing, joking and celebrating a birthday with a sparkling cake and a communal singalong.
After two years of living in a cocoon, as Petra and I were led through the masses to our table in the extension, with its raised floor and lower ceiling, we mouthed “Covid” at each other – but this is life returning to normal. This is people interacting with one another, having fun together, enjoying each other’s company and, hopefully, some good food.
Gabrielle’s menu is dauntingly long: hot and cold starters, plus pizza, pasta and risotto main dishes with a wide variety of finishes, including vegetarian and Vegan options, and then there are 11 meat dishes plus a blackboard of freshly caught fish. I would recommend doing your homework first and viewing the menu online.
As a starter, Theo, our son, had the pate della casa (£5.95) (above), which was a couple of dollops of smooth chicken liver pate. Some chicken liver pates can be harsh and strident, but this was gorgeous, even if there wasn’t even ciabatta bread. It was served on a bed of red onion jam, which added a soft sweetness to the dish.
I was also deeply impressed with my pan fried triangle of black pudding (£5.95) (above): crispy outside with molten smooth middle. There was a slice of melting Brie oozing on the top, which gave just the merest hint of mouthwatering cheesiness. It, too, was on the bed of red onion jam but there was also a dash of balsamic vinegar for contrasting sharpness.
By now, heavy drops of rain were falling outside, but, fortunately, the extension’s windows were open, letting in a welcome breeze. The warmth of the evening, the spinning of the ceiling fan, the pictures of Sophia Loren and Venetian canals on the walls, the loud chitter-chatter of people relaxing and an Italian waiter, with elaborate hand flourishes, constantly moving among them – this really could have been somewhere far more continental than back-street Bishop.
But it being Bishop, everyone seemed to know everyone in the restaurant – the table beside us had a constant procession of people popping up to say hello.
Perhaps they were there for Gabrielle’s sauces, big and powerful and full of taste, which came with all of our main dishes.
Genevieve, our daughter, had pollo taleggio (£13.95) (above), a chicken supreme stuffed with cheese and served with a rich chorizo and tomato sauce, and topped with a crispy piece of Parma ham. It was nicely balanced, the white gentle meat of the chicken against the ham, and the cheese taking just the edge off the richness of the chorizo.
Petra had a giant bowl of pasta filled with spinach and ricotta cheese and served in a pesto sauce (£8.50) (above). All the tastes were there, especially the wild pesto in its creamy sauce, but in its enormity, it was too much for her.
Theo had a pizza bolognaise (£9.25) (above), which was a nice, thin homemade pizza with plenty of cheese and, again, a rich ragout on top. Nothing, of course, is too much for him, and, with parmesan and black pepper on top, he quickly finished it off, folding the bolognaise inside the pizza to make himself little sandwiches.
I had one of the most expensive items on the menu: slow roasted Porchetta (£15.95) (above). It was served with pan roasted mushrooms – great meaty mushrooms – and came in a dark, rich sauce with wonderful wafts of garlic running through it.
The meat was white and juicy and worked so well with the sauce and the fine basket of accompanying chips.
My only issue was the crackling on top. The ordinary knife couldn’t cut it, although with a steak knife I managed to break half of it into edible pieces, and they added a brazen, crispy porkiness to the gentle belly meat.
But half of it was too much for even the steak knife to handle and so had to be left, undoubtedly for the good of my aging teeth which hummed for a day afterwards with the effort of masticulating. On the table beside us, the lady who had had a parade of visitors was unable to make any headway with her crackling.
Desserts were £4.50 each. Genevieve had a good sticky toffee pudding (above) although I thought Theo’s chocolate brownie was more of a dense sponge. It didn’t deter him.
I had a large slice of tiramsu (above), which I thought was practically perfect. In a recent review, I had a glass dish of tiramsu for £2 more and, although it tasted fine, it was really just a layered mousse. But here there was fluffy-light sponge to go with coffee creaminess and, as it wasn’t too sweet, it brought my meal to a really nice end.
Despite those first impressions, this was a lovely meal in infectiously friendly and busy – if noisy – surroundings. On the wall was a rewritten offer from The Godfather: “We’re going to make you food you cannot refuse.” It was good enough that you wouldn’t want to refuse, even with the menace of the weather hanging over you.
Gabrielle’s,
7, Flintoff Street,
Bishop Auckland,
DL14 7LE
Tel: 01388-604942
Web: gabriellesristorante.co.uk
Service: 7
Ambience: 7
Food quality: 8
Value for money: 8
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