By Chris Gordon

It’s a good five years or more since we last called in at the Pear Tree in Woodhouse Eaves.

Back then we dined like pearly kings on a feast of sandwich, chips and lager. To say the place has changed would be an understatement on a par with Hayley Cropper’s mam thinking there was something a little different about her lad Harold.

The traditional trappings of a country boozer have been swept away and the place transformed into a chic Italian restaurant, Gino’s Pear Tree.

The greeting was as warm as a Tuscan evening in July, and we settled ourselves in the bar area with a drink, to make lusty eyes at the menu.

There’s a good choice, with several specials, including risottos, although none to tempt us on this occasion.

At our table, bread and olive oil whetted our appetite for sunshine and turned our thoughts to summer holiday plans.

For starters we opted for Gamberoni ai Ferri – a house showpiece of king prawns with lemon, garlic and parsley – and a caprese salad of mozzarella and tomatoes.

Both dishes were very light and more-ish. The mozzarella was drizzled with basil-infused olive oil and very refreshing while the prawns burst with flavour.

For the main course we ordered Pollo Valdostana and Fettucini al Carbonara.

The chicken dish was topped with Parma ham and Fontana cheese and served in a white wine and butter sauce.

After the starter we'd had high expectations and this lived up to them. The sauce was exquisite, beautifully cooked and presented, and accompanied by purple sprouting broccoli lightly cooked with chilli (fabulous – a must-try at home!), and chunky fried potatoes – it wouldn’t be doing them justice to call them chips.

The Fettucini al Carbonara was a classic dish, executed with affection – fresh, al dente pasta bathed in a rich sauce of ham, egg and cream.

The kitchen may have stayed true to the conventions of Italy, but that didn’t mean we had to, and we ordered bruchetta as a side dish.

As it turned out, it wasn’t a good choice, although fresh it was a little underwhelming alongside the dish. That’s probably why it’s ordinarily eaten as an appetiser.

Despite our earlier vows to abstain, the desserts proved too tempting to resist. So we succumbed to tiramisu and white chocolate profiteroles.

I must admit I’d had my eye on the cheesecake but it was all gone by the time we were ready for it...

Any disappointment was soon quelled by a Bailey’s latte (a wow factor) and coffee.

Now, a tip. Arrive early. We booked for eight-thirty, which seemed a reasonable time to be eating. Yet we were the last diners and had to wait a reasonably long time for our table.

We were also at the tail end of the night’s supplies, so had a meal punctuated by apologies for dishes which were no longer available. They’d even run out of cream for an Irish coffee.

This did rather mar our enjoyment a little. And though the replacements were splendid, they weren’t always our first choices.

But overall we had a very pleasant evening, with good service and quality food for a total of £65 for two people including a couple of drinks and coffees.

Whilst not an everyday option, that seems fine for a special night out. Flyers in the restaurant advertised al fresco pizza and pasta jazz evenings (with an external pizza oven!)

I’d guess it won’t be another five years before we return.

Info

Gino's Pear Tree, Church Hill, Woodhouse Eaves, 01509 890 243.

Rating: 4/5