How you can enjoy Michelin Star-quality food at popular pub spot
“The North East has always embraced us - we’re excited to spend time in a different part of it” - say the owners of a Michelin Star restaurant as they announce a special residency.
Restaurant Hjem - which gained Northumberland its first Michelin Star and will serve its final service on New Year’s Eve 2025 - has announced plans to open a six-month pop-up restaurant at the South Causey Inn, County Durham, from early February 2026.
Set in 100 acres of countryside in the heart of the Beamish Valley, the South Causey Inn is one of the area’s most popular restaurants and hotels.
The move will see Hjem head chef Alex Nietosvuori, his wife and restaurant manager Ally Thompson-Nietosvuori, and their team relocate to a standalone building The Farmhouse on the South Causey site while work continues on Freyja, their purpose-built restaurant-with-rooms currently under construction at Close House in Wylam.
On the menu
Offering an à la carte menu with a six-course tasting option, the restaurant will operate a dinner service Wednesday to Friday; lunch and dinner on Saturday and a long lunch on Sundays - giving guests new ways to experience the Anglo-Scandinavian cooking that has defined Hjem’s approach for the past six years.
The temporary restaurant also enables the couple to keep their team together, continue developing dishes and techniques ahead of Freyja’s launch, and spend meaningful time in a different corner of the North East - a region where they already have strong roots and where diners have long supported their culinary journey.
“This exciting move offers a chance to cook somewhere new, while staying close to home,” said Alex Nietosvuori. “It feels incredibly special to be staying in the North East while we work on the next chapter of our story.
“The Beamish Valley is beautiful, and the South Causey team have created something really special here over the years.”
Ally added: “The North East has always embraced us - we’re excited to spend time in a different part of it. We’ve spent six incredible years at Hjem, and we knew we wanted this in-between period to be meaningful.
“Being able to bring our team here, support their development, and still offer something special to guests means a lot to us. The South Causey grounds are stunning, with walking trails, beautiful rooms and so many things for guests to enjoy. Their values as a family-run business resonate with us, and we’re really looking forward to contributing something that complements what they already do so well.”
Ally added that the pop-up’s more relaxed format takes inspiration from Hjem’s successful extended residency at Fenwick in Newcastle in 2024, giving diners greater flexibility while maintaining the team’s hallmark precision and seasonality.
A seasonally changing à la carte menu will be offered, alongside a six-course tasting menu with optional wine and non-alcoholic pairings.
Guests can expect new dishes created specifically for this interim chapter, with perhaps the occasional subtle nod to Hjem’s greatest hits - but the focus, Ally emphasises, is “a fresh phase between the end of Hjem and the beginning of Freyja.”
Drawing on both the team’s Scandinavian influences and the produce-led ethos that underpinned every plate at Hjem and will also shape Freyja, the menu will showcase refined yet comforting dishes such as winter herb velouté with poached egg and smoked crème fraîche, cured seatrout with ajo blanco and pistachio, and mains including steamed cod with Sandefjord sauce, a saffron and mussel broth served with spicy fries, and a Freyja winter garden vegetable tart.
Desserts balance richness and nostalgia, from salted chocolate ganache with vin jaune jelly to rum and raisin crème brûlée, with farmhouse cheeses and a choux bun with pink praline ice also featuring.
Dietary accommodations will continue to be offered as standard, in line with the team’s ethos of thoughtful, guest-centred hospitality.
Susan Moiser, owner at the South Causey Inn, said: “As a family-owned business, it means so much to us to welcome Alex and Ally and the Hjem team to South Causey Inn.
“We have long admired their passion, creativity and commitment to exceptional food, and this collaboration feels like a natural fit for us. Hosting Hjem in our Farmhouse for the next six months is incredibly exciting, and we can’t wait for our guests to experience something truly special.”
The pop-up marks an important stepping-stone as Ally and Alex prepare to open Freyja, their largest and most ambitious project to date: a boldly designed, garden-to-fork restaurant with 12 bedrooms, set within the restored Georgian Walled Garden on the Close House Estate.
Due to open towards the end of 2026, Freyja will combine Scandinavian design with Northumbrian landscape and produce, embodying what Alex describes as “the freedom to cook from what’s growing just beyond the kitchen wall.”
HOW TO BOOK
Hjem at South Causey Inn will open on February 4, 2026 and will run dinner services Wednesday to Friday; lunch and dinner on Saturday and a long lunch on Sunday. Bookings will be taken via the South Causey Inn website at www.southcausey.co.uk. Dinner, bed & breakfast packages will also be available.
Sign up for updates on Restaurant Freyja at www.restaurantfreyja.com