IT'S something of a cliche hereabouts but Duncan Bannatyne has come a long way since the days he was selling ice cream on the streets of Middlesbrough.

Since those formative years in the school of the hardest knocks, the Scotsman from Glasgow's Clydebank has built, and in most cases disposed of at a handsome profit, more successful companies than the rest of us can think of.

Whether it's been residential care homes, nurseries or, most recently, fitness clubs, everything he has touched has turned to gold.

Despite cutting his entrepreneurial teeth in the catering trade, Mr Bannatyne has largely steered clear of the food business - with one notable exception. Eight years ago he bought the shabby, seen-better-days, Grange Hotel in Darlington's West End and set about turning it into the New Grange Hotel incorporating Maxine's Restaurant.

Some who should have known better doubted he could make a go it. After all, they said, this was a man probably reared on deep-fried Mars bars, whose previous experience of the catering business amounted to knowing how to make the best 99 and keeping other ice cream sellers off his jealously-guarded patch.

The chattering classes of Darlington's West End were hopelessly wrong, of course, because the New Grange and Maxine's are still here today. And, we suspect, those who should have known better are among the place's best customers.

The hotel side of the business is particularly successful, so much so that work has just started on an extension to increase the number of bedrooms.

But it's the restaurant that most locals have grown to love. The food is not of the very highest quality, perhaps, but it is very keenly priced and is served in the contemporary yet sumptuous Georgian surroundings of the former Immaculate Conception School. It's a building thatstarted it's life as home to Edward Backhouse (founder of Barclays Bank) and later to Joseph Pease (founder of the Stockton & Darlington Railway). It has a real style.

Sunday lunch is especially popular and a recent birthday treat for me was to dine there in the company of my four favourite ladies (my wife, you will no doubt be relieved to hear, was among them).

For £10.95 diners get three courses. Starters included cream of sweet potato and rosemary soup, confit of trout with rocket and caramelised lemon, and vine tomato, red onion and Parma ham salad. I chose the last of those and it was gratifying to find some decent-sized slivers of Parma ham among the tomato and onion. The trout and soup were also acclaimed by my female guests.

The main courses included two roasts, Dales beef and Yorkshire pudding, and roast loin of pork. There was also seared salmon with caper and almond butter, breast of chicken with a mushroom and red wine jus, and sun-dried tomato and asparagus risotto.

Traditionalists to a woman, the ladies went for the beef and I opted for the pork. Both were as they should be - tender, flavoursome and served with plenty of gravy.

Roasting meat is not rocket science, of course, but serving Yorkshire puddings to large numbers of people at differing times is somewhat tricky. Most establishments tend to cook them in advance to some degree and then endeavour to keep them warm until served. Which can mean one of two things, depending the heat they are kept in. Either they crisp up to point where they take on the texture of Tutankhamun's death mask or go soggy and turn to the consistency of wet kitchen towel as soon as gravy comes anywhere near.

The ladies' puddings were not at all bad. Although I thought the bit I stole from my wife's plate was a little on the tough side the ladies devoured theirs so I was clearly in a minority on this.

Desserts included vanilla cheesecake, warm chocolate fudge cake with ice cream, and apple and cinnamon crumble. All were OK without being notably memorable. However, the selection of local cheeses and biscuits was a particularly good value plateful.

Coffee (£1.75) and tea (£1.50) were extra but good and strong. With a few drinks (mostly soft due to driving duties) the bill came to just over £80. A very good way to celebrate a birthday.

A final tip for those not too familiar with Darlington. Maxine's is not easy to find. If you spot it as in our picture above you are nowhere near, thanks to the vagaries of the town's ring road. The key to finding it is the road running off Grange Road opposite Polam Hall Junior School. That's Southend Avenue. Just follow it to the road end.