I have eaten here on two occasions, months apart and overall found the service, food choice and general atmosphere far above anything else that Alnwick has to offer! We initially ate, as a group of 8, on Christmas Eve 2007. The service was excellent, with all staff being pleasant, and efficient. We were all served together, which meant that no-one was left waiting for food whilst everyone else ate. The owner even came round the restaurant after service had ended to chat to the customers, and check that everyone was happy with the meal.
Our second visit was a few weeks ago, just after a poor press review. Again we were seated upstairs, in a very busy room, but again the staff were attentive and pleasant, and we never felt that we were being rushed out so that they could get another tableful in! The food was excellent, and although the choice of desserts was slightly lacking in imagination, the presentation was impressive - except for an uncooked creme brulee! However when this was brought to their attention, the staff quickly solved the problem without any fuss or questioning.
The restaurant is such a breath of fresh air in Alnwick, where previous choices have included a "special offer" pizza/pasta joint, a restaurant that seems to continually change cuisines every few months, or the in my opinion overhyped, overpriced White Swan! We have been so impressed with the menu choice, atmosphere, staff and the owner himself, that we have booked the restaurant for my parents' vow renewal reception next year.

The menu at Blackmores in Alnwick is interesting and appealing without being pretentious, the food follows the same pattern, flavoursome, interesting and just different enough without being scary! The decor is relaxing modern, fresh and tasteful. This is somewhere you could take anyone and feel comfortable and I am certain your guests would be impressed. We couldn't get a table for a Sat night (the previous Weds) but settled for a table on Sunday evening. The staff on the night were cheerful, helpful, attentive and again unpretentious. In my opinion this is the place Alnwick has been waiting for. In my opinion this restaurant is what Alnwick has been waiting for. It is sure to have a firm following of regulars - if our first visit is anything to go by we will quickly be joining them.

I had seen some strong criticisms here and in the press, but none were justified on the basis of my experience. (Party of 6 on a Sat night). The standard of the interior fittings both in the downstairs bar and in the restaurant upstairs is well above the standard of anything else in Alnwick, although it was just a bit too warm upstairs. The service was friendly and efficient and the pace of delivery just right, neither too slow or rushed, and this on a busy night. The place is always full and I can see why. People will pay for good quality, but they don't come back to repeat a bad experience.
The starters were very accomplished, especially the duck salad, which just could not have been bettered. The fish soup got the thumbs up as did the crayfish cocktail. The Glendale steaks in whiskey sauce were just what streaks should be; generously cut and meltingly tender with a sauce that did not overpower the flavour. Vegetables were nicely presented and varied and the chips really good. I am not a pudding hand, but the puds got universal praise, except for a choc mousse that seemed more like a choc truffle, but was still devoured with appreciation by the chocaholics. The Sancerre was good value and a fine example of a wine that sometimes disappoints, whilst I found the Californian Pinot Noir surprisingly good (if pricey at '£32) and much better than the boiled spangles taste of some such offerings. The service was delightful, and the young staff very adept and good humoured. The whole evening was a great success and I will certainly be back. I guess such places have the odd bad night, but I hope any who were disappointed in the early days give it a second chance, because Blackmore's goes from strength to strength and deserves its success.

We have eaten here twice. Once on 23rd December for dinner and once a couple of weeks ago for lunch. Both times the food and staff were fantastic. So often these days we pay for poor food that has been re heated in a microwave .Normally in Alnwick, you are better off at home with Nigella! At last decent, proper food here at Blackmores. About time!

This restaurant is a breath of fresh air to Alnwick. Having read the local paper about Blackmore's, I think the person complaining needs to get a life. How sad they are resorting to putting it in the local paper and websites. Of course with any new establishment there will be some teething problems but they get sorted. If I'm not happy with a meal I've ordered, I say so straight away, and it will hopefully get sorted. This person obviously just muttered and complained all through their meal but didn't actually complain to the people responsible. I'm pleased I wasn't sitting at their table that night, what a pain in the wotsits they must have been!!! I think the team do a great job!

We dined as a party of four at the newly opened (two weeks) Blackmore's in Alnwick, Northumberland, before Christmas 2007. The restaurant is on two floors, the ground floor part being adjacent to the (noisy, as one would expect) bar and our table was near to the entrance to the toilets which as one would expect again to be well frequented. Note that the table booking had been made some three weeks in advance. For a restaurant that describes itself on its own web site as not only Alnwick's newest but also most exclusive dining experience, this was not a tranquil ambience. What the first floor is like I do not know. Indeed I do not know whether that part indeed had the entertainment and disco which was again advertised with the Christmas Menu on the web site. The d cor could be described as minimalist or clean-cut. The welcome and service by the young women was warm and efficient. Drinks were provided as ordered except surprisingly (in these days) no low or no alcohol beer was available and the young server seemed taken aback at such a request and had to be encouraged to suggest what might be offered as substitutes. The serving staff may still be learning their trade, and so did as well as could be expected after some two weeks. As a party we had starters of tossed salad and roasted smoked salmon, artichoke, bean and potato soup and a chicken liver and mushroom pat . None were particularly remarkable but were acceptable, even if the salmon had been somehow made too greasy (perhaps previously cooked and then re-heated). Also, I do wish that kitchen brigades learn that the skins of pulses toughen to an inedible degree when salted early in the cooking process- of course it is possible they were tinned. The main courses were lamb shank, turkey with trimmimgs (pity that the cranberry sauce was not served without being requested or indeed any other trimmimg), and stir fry noodles with baked fillet of sea bass. The person who had the lamb shank described it as dry without any taste which is a pity for a dish that can be unctuous. The shank is a cheap, very earthy cut of meat and easy to cook - during the process you can actually watch the meat slide down the shank This shank presented did not demonstrate any of its marvellous classical characteristics. The turkey I gather was dry and unappetising. I had the sea bass and stir fry noodles and vegetables. The sea bass was succulent but again lacked taste, the stir fry was well a disaster, swamped with sauce, Thai or otherwise, and the vegetables had been cooked to oblivion. The copious vegetables served for the non-fish were roast potatoes and various carrot/green. The roast potatoes had been cooked well beforehand and somehow re-heated (could have been microwaved I suppose). They looked and were unappetising not at all what roast potatoes should be. The side vegetables were reasonable. The sweets we had were a very small Christmas pudding with brandy sauce, and cr me brulee with vanilla pod ice cream (new twist). I noted that the Christmas pudding was half eaten and apparently was very claggy and the sauce could not be detected with any brandy flavour. I had the cr me brulee which is classically a dessert consisting of a rich custard base based on egg-thickened custard topped with a layer of hard caramel, created by burning sugar under a grill or blowtorch say. It is usually served cold. The version I had was I am pretty sure based on custard powder or derivative. It was certainly cloying and was not enhanced either by tasteless ice cream. In summary, this kitchen brigade needs to determine where its culinary skills lie and the customers it needs to target before honing its modus operandii, otherwise currently I feel it is going nowhere. It certainly does not provide anywhere near the advertised dining experience.