Faru

With its neutral exterior and subtle signage, Faru is a clever, understated restaurant with baby-blue walls, well-spaced circular tables and an open kitchen where Jake Siddle is at the stove and his wife Laura oversees a well-drilled, knowledgeable team front of house. After nine years together at Newcastle’s House of Tides, their own gaff ‘is making a huge difference to Durham’s dining scene’ with elegant five or ten-course tasting menus plus matching wines at lunch or dinner.

Either way, it begins with little Parmesan shortbreads before a journey through a series of small plates: pork beignet with apple and vanilla custard; barbecued lamb glazed with black garlic; lobster tart; and a stunning dish of hen of the woods mushroom with a chive emulsion, pak choi, chicken fat and yeast crumb, and some rich mushroom dashi to ramp up the umami (mop up the juices with a spiral milk bread roll spread with ‘bacon jam’). Honey- and orange-glazed duck is another standout dish, here accompanied by smoked beetroot dusted with Cambodian Kampot pepper, a little chutney of caramelised chicory, and an ingenious fried press of potato and duck leg. Desserts are equally flawless, as in a hazelnut parfait with a crunchy praline base, rum jelly and raisin gel, finished with a hazelnut and chocolate tuile and a banana sorbet.

Five wines match the 10 courses, starting with an English sparkler ahead of some interesting bottles including an oaked and flinty Oliver Zeter Sauvignon Blanc Fumé. As a final flourish, Faru serves coffee with two petits fours (a tiny, exquisite lemon cheesecake and a lime and pineapple jelly) to complete a top-class experience.