During the recent stay in the Peak District, we were looking for a place to eat for dinner. Thankfully I had packed “The Good Food Guide 2010″ (and this really is worth the £16.99 and taken as part of your packing if you travel a lot around the UK) and it definitely helped making the choice of easier.

Around the surrounding area of our cottage was “Pecks Restaurant”, in Moreton, about 15 miles away. The GFG gave this an overall score of 3/10 (even a 1/10 is a good score as it means the establishment gets listed) and a “Seriously impressive stuff” summary. We managed to get a Tuesday evening booking, and the restaurant has introduced a “Bring your own bottle” on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, something I’ve not seen before but also something that more restaurants seem to be doing. It helps cut down the overall cost of the meal AND you can make sure you have a wine that you like, so a win-win in my books.

I was expecting a gastro pub, but this was a bit fancier than that. Being a midweek evening it wasn’t overly busy, I reckon about 30 diners. We all sat in the conservatory area which was large and bright. Tables were laid out very well, and comfortable chairs, which is something basic in my books, but alas some places don’t have. The restaurant have menu’s that cover 1 month at a time, so we had the June menu to look through. Tuesday and Wednesday evenings are a set 5 course menu for a non-wallett busting £35! Great value and the overall atmosphere was equivalent to some more pricier places that I’ve eaten at.

The menu had a good selection of courses, and we had decided what we wanted fairly quickly. I like smaller menus as some places have far too much choice, and you really want a selection of mains on a plate. So, this is where Pecks is a bit different to your “normal” restaurant. Rather than just have the waiting staff take your order, they actually parade each dish to every table, explaining what is there, and gives you a chance of looking at it too. Initially this was quite “fun” but it soon became a bit tedious, mainly because of the proximity of the other tables so you heard them get their presentation, then it was your turn, then the next table – we were only a few feet from each other, and there wasn’t that many guests. I think it’s a nice idea, but in this particular session would have easily been done as one presentation to the whole room. Thankfully it wasn’t totally booked out as I reckon you could be waiting a loooooong time between courses. At one point there were 2 waitresses doing the parading, that was quite interesting!

For starters we both opted for the “Courgette and Smoked Bacon Soup”. This was one of the best soups I had ever tasted. Piping hot, nice texture, lardons of bacon, and a deep taste. I wasn’t expecting much from courgette soup, but this surpassed my initial preconception and we really enjoyed it.

For pre-main I chose “Smoked Haddock Beignet with Homemade Tartare Sauce”. This looked better than it tasted, which was a bit annoying. The beignet is basically the same as a profitterole, but a savoury one. The batter was very nice, it was just lacking with filling and had a “weak” taste to it. Mini chose the “Wild Mushroom Risotto with Fried Rocket” – fried rocket eh! Bit 80′s. The risotto was well made, nice and gooey with a flavoursome mushroom depth. Unfortunately the rocket was very salty, which after eating first left that flavour in the mouth.

My main was “Medallion of Pork with Meaux Mustard and Brandy Sauce with Pearl Barley Risotto”. A triumph on a plate. The pork was well cooked, the sauce was umptious and just the right amount of risotto. Something I would be happy to serve at home. Mini had “Pink Duck Breast on Vegetable Couscous with Sherry and Apricot Glaze”. This must have been a midget duck, as the breast was tiny. Well cooked but lacking in flavour, so a bit of a let down. One slightly “odd” thing with both dishes was they were served with “Fresh Market Vegetables and Potato Garni” – for my course this wasn’t too bad (it was a roasted carrot, not really summery!, roast potatoes, and a roasted leek), but roast potatoes with couscous? Seriously? And roasted vegetables in summer time, would have been a lot better steamed.

The menu had “A selection of our Famous Pecks Puddings” and boy what a selection. There were 7 puddings paraded, each one looking glorious. This did take some time, and to be honest I had forgotten what I had wanted as I changed my mind so much. Ultimately I went for a 50/50 split with “Rum and Raisin Cheesecake” and “Key Lime Pie” – the cheesecake was brilliant, deep rum flavours. The lime pie was light and fizzy, another great dessert! I could have had two whole portions. Mini went for the Raspberry brulee. It had the required glass like topping, that gave a clean and crisp crack when broken, but a bit let down by the lack of raspberry flavour.

We scored the courses with the following:-

Me: Soup 4/5, Beignet 2/5, Pork 4/5, Pud 4/5 – 14/20

Mini: Soup 4/5, Risotto 3/5, Duck 2/5, Pud 3/5 – 12/20

The scoring is a new thing we are trying, and we had to remember that this was not a Michelin level place, but the food was a very high level throughout. Service was very attentive too, and not overly fussy.

If you are anywhere near Moreton in Cheshire then give this place a go.