Pentonbridge Inn, Penton, Cumbria: 'The kind of food that makes me dizzy' - restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants

According to my mother, my ancestors once ran Pentonbridge Inn near the Scottish border. We're talking about a century ago at least because this historic coaching inn is very, very old, which means anyone who knows if my great, great, great-grandmother pulled pints here has since gone long, including my mother, who held all the keys to family folklore. How I wish I had taken many notes on this subject years ago, when instead I gallivanted around posh London, eating mackerel with cream of sea water at Claridge's or some other truly vital activity.

Meanwhile, around 2017, in the area historically referred to as 'questionable land' between the Solway Firth and Dumfries and Galloway, Pentonbridge Inn began to suffer a extensive and costly renovation. It has transformed from a dilapidated and largely ignored fortress against the elements into a rather handsome, bold and pale building in which chef Chris Archer's five- and eight-course tasting menus are now served. For someone like me, who knows the area, the adventure is intriguing. Selling egg yolk and truffle browned butter ravioli takes dogged stubbornness in a place where the road network is sketchy at best and where the last train stopped in 1969. Also, retaining staff from September to May could be a major issue, as here it is the Withnail and I months when daylight is scarce and sleet falls mostly from the side.

Despite this, or perhaps in defiance of this, Pentonbridge Inn is thriving. In fact, they make it look so easy that you might just walk away thinking, “Hospitality crisis? What hospitality crisis? It's sleek and modern, with interiors that border on Scandi. Don't expect chintz, tartan or old world Cumberland. The team is mostly local, with restaurant manager Ross Bell leading warm, knowledgeable service without air or grace. This is the kind of personnel that must be retained at all costs.

At dinner on Saturday, they serve eight courses, using mostly local ingredients, including fruit, vegetables and herbs from the local walled garden at Netherby Hall. Archer worked at Midsummer House in Cambridge and The Cottage in the Wood near Keswick, which is evident in his culinary finesse, but it seems to me that at Pentonbridge Inn he found his true groove. This is an extra menu...