THE last time Sylvia ate at the Blue Bell in Bishopton a Mateus Rose bottle with a red candle in it was the very height of pub dining room sophistication. It was the early Seventies, a time when it was considered pretty avant-garde to have plastic vines hanging from the ceiling.

It was also one of the first pubs in the area to start serving rather more adventurous dishes. Before then chicken in a basket was about as good as it got.

The memory of the Blue Bell being a rather special place had stayed with Sylvia, which prompted a return visit - some 30 years later. Can't have been that special I thought, as we weaved our way down the narrow lane to the village which lies in the triangle formed by Stockton, Sedgefield and Darlington.

As is often the case, places change and memories can take on a golden hue with the passing of time. Certainly the Mateus Rose bottles and artificial grapes are long gone and the pub extensively re-modelled, not altogether successfully it has to be said, after a fire in the Eighties.

Still there were some reminders of days gone by, thanks primarily to background music which featured a selection of numbers from Barry White and his Love Unlimited Orchestra (I'm a big fan, as it happens), and the presence of a well-known Tyne Tees Television presenter who may well have started his small-screen career in the same era.

There was also the "Seventies-style" prawn cocktail (£3.95) which Sylvia choose, no doubt in a further attempt to conjure up those halcyon days. It was a hearty enough serving of prawns, so packed into the serving glass that it had to be tipped out on to a serving plate.

My black pudding tartlet (£3.50) was altogether more 21st century. The pudding was slightly crunchy and lay on top of some spicy apple chutney which in turn sat on the pastry. It made a surprisingly good, zingy, combination. Other starters on a short blackboard menu included soup and crusty bread (£3.25) and warm chicken Caesar salad (£3.55).

We returned to the Seventies with our main courses. Sylvia's well cooked-to-medium sirloin steak came with onion rings and fried mushrooms (£10.50). My winter warming Hungarian goulash was served with rice (£7.35). These were served with a mountain of roasted fresh vegetables. The steak was acceptable without being especially memorable, the goulash was full of very tender braised steak and very, well, winter warming.

Other main courses on offer that evening on the daily-changing blackboard menu included steak and Guinness pie (£6.60), oven roasted chunky cod with chorizo and sweet cherry tomatoes (£9.20) and lambs' liver and bacon on a root vegetable mash (£6.90).

Portions were on the exceedingly generous side which was a further reminder of an era well before the concept of nouvelle cuisine came along and the less-is-more mantra dominated fashionable eateries. And so dessert was out of the question. Which was a good thing as it turned as they could only offer branded ice-cream concoctions which didn't exactly set the heart, or the cholesterol, soaring.

We ate our meal at one end of a lengthy bar close to a handsome fireplace which, sadly and despite the perishing temperatures outside, was not filled with a raging fire. There is also a largish conservatory eating area at the side but the friendly bar staff advised against eating there as it was on the chilly side. Service was attentive without being fussy.

The bill came to a tiddle over £33 and that included some strong coffees and a couple of drinks from the bar. Not quite Seventies prices but hard to quibble with considering the volume of food provided and the acceptable quality.

Landlord Kevin Simpson and partner/chef Nicola Muir have been tenants at the Blue Bell for four years. Their meat is sourced locally from George Bolam at Spennymoor and vegetables likewise. Mr Simpson apologised for the poor dessert selection but said this had been rectified since our visit with the addition of some favourites, including a sticky toffee pudding and a bread and butter pudding. We felt like suggesting peach melba but perhaps that would be just a little too retro.