Taste test review of the Tulip Lounge in Norton-on-Tees

We were visiting on a bitterly cold morning over New Year – so cold that the ducks on the famous duckpond only had a small circle of water beneath the fountain that was ice-free and swimmable.

We’d gone in search of the grave of John Walker, the local man who 200 years ago invented the match, and, once we’d found him, needed somewhere to thaw out.

The church and the duckpond are at the northern end of the High Street, where a large flock of pigeons wheeled through the airspace above the wide village green and avoided conflict with the equally large flock of corvids which was having a noisy squabble around the tall trees.

We walked past the fine mansions, including the £3m Admiral’s House, built in the mid-18th Century by Policarpus Taylor as he on-shored the swashbuckling fortune he had made privateering in the Caribbean, to the southern end where the Tulip Lounge has been open since the summer.

READ MORE: ADMIRAL TAYLOR’S HOME ON THE MARKET FOR £3m

OR: MEET JOHN WALKER, THE STOCKTON MAN WHO INVENTED THE MATCH EXACTLY 200 YEARS AGO

On our visit, despite the weather and despite it being a New Year Friday, it was surprisingly busy.

Its long, thin building has had many earlier uses as a garage, an auction room and antiques shop, but has been tastefully converted into a café – importantly, a café so warm I had to ask for the heater beside our table to be turned off because we were quickly cooking.

The menu offers classic café fare – soup, open sandwiches, salads, stotties, toasties and burgers and wraps – but often there’s an international twist to the dishes. There’s a Turkish sausage toastie (£11), a Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich (£14) or a Bao Bun filled with Asian Panko Sticky Chicken (£11).

The Sticky Chicken Wrap

My children, Theo and Genevieve, both chose the Asian Panko Sticky Chicken Wrap (£13) while I chose the Panko Chicken Wrap (£13) as it seemed to have so many tastes crammed into it: avocado, cheddar cheese and sour cream. Petra, my wife, felt in need of something light and easily digestible after plenty of Christmas fare and so chose the halloumi, beetroot and pumpkin seed salad (£10.50).

Service was extremely fast. I just about had time to walk to the far end of the café to collect four glasses of water from the countertop dispenser – a great idea – before our meals had arrived.

Panko Chicken and Avocado Wrap

The wraps were tightly packed. The panko breadcrumbs gave the chicken a slight crunch, which was attractive amid my smooth tastes of crushed avocado and cream cheese – it didn’t quite have the impact of cheddar cheese, as I’d been expecting, but it was perfectly pleasant.

The Asian wraps were equally good and packed with a slightly sweetly-sticky taste.

The wraps came with a little salad and a small bowl filled with slices of pickled cucumber. These gained a mixed reception: Genevieve disliked them; Theo doused them in ketchup and ate them, while I thought they were an imaginative touch. Anyone could have thrown on a few lumps of cucumber onto some greenery but these gentle pickles added something unexpected to the plate.

The wraps came with a basket of faultless chunky chips, golden and crispy on the outside, warm and fluffy on the inside.

The Avocado, Beetroot and Pumpkin Seed Salad

Petra’s salad was large and fresh and nicely put together, with plenty of avocado among the leaves, seeds, blueberries and tomatoes.

For desserts, The Tulip Lounge offers plenty of scones (£4.50), or cakes, brownies and shortbreads (£5.50), plus it does a speciality line in American pancakes (£8). However, as we have a house full of post-Christmas cakes and biscuits, we managed to avoid the temptations.

The dessert display of cakes and slices at The Tulip Lounge

Our bill for four, including each having a fancy tea or coffee, came to £65.50 (my mocha at £5 was at the top end of what I’d expect to pay).

Our food was flavoursome and fresh, and, from pickled cucumber to panko breadcrumbs, showed intriguing touches of imagination. Plus the chips were great.

It was a striking end to our search for the man who invented the match.

The Tulip Lounge
Harland Place, Norton-on-Tees, TS20 1AL
Tel: 01642-500210
Web: thetuliplounge.com

Ratings

Food quality: 8
Surroundings: 7
Service: 9
Value for money: 8