Restaurant Hjem – Northumberland’s first Michelin-starred restaurant – has announced plans for a six-month pop-up restaurant at the South Causey Inn in County Durham from early February.
Set in 100 acres of countryside in the heart of the Beamish Valley, the family-run hotel and restaurant will welcome Hjem head chef Alex Nietosvuori, his wife and restaurant manager Ally Thompson-Nietosvuori, and their team to The Farmhouse on the South Causey site while work continues on Freyja – their new restaurant with rooms, currently under construction at Close House in Heddon on the Wall.
Offering an à la carte menu alongside a six-course tasting menu, 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 last 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 time in a different part of the North East.
“This exciting move offers a chance to cook somewhere new, while staying close to home,” said Alex. “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 has created something really special here over the years.”
“The North East has always embraced us,” added Ally. “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 precision and seasonality.
Guests can expect new dishes created specifically for this interim chapter, with the occasional subtle nod to Hjem’s greatest hits, but the focus, Ally emphasises, is on “a fresh phase between the end of Hjem and the beginning of Freyja.”
Drawing on the team’s Scandinavian influences and the produce-led ethos that underpinned every plate at Hjem and will 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 include salted chocolate ganache with vin jaune jelly, rum and raisin crème brûlée, and a choux bun with pink praline ice.
Susan Moiser, owner of 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 is an important stepping-stone as Ally and Alex prepare to open Freyja – 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.”
Hjem at South Causey Inn will open on February 4. Bookings will be taken via the South Causey Inn website at www.southcausey.co.uk. Dinner, bed and breakfast packages will also be available.
