Bank Holiday Lunch at The Wild Rabbit Kingham

Last bank holiday Monday, The Chap and I took a leisurely country drive off into the heart of the Cotswolds. I say leisurely, it was p*****g it down - I totally wish we had this Mondays weather instead - still, we were in good spirits because we were off for lunch.

Kingham was our destination of choice; a gorgeous little village in the Evenlode Valley, Oxfordshire. We've swung by a few times before - I'd highly recommend Sunday lunch at The Kingham Plough - but this time we had a different agenda.

The Wild Rabbit is a name that crops up in every local travel guide, and is often highlighted as being the place to stay if you're after a luxurious Cotswold retreat. They class themselves as being a re-invention of the traditional English inn – a place to eat, drink and sleep - and by 'they', I mean the Daylesford team. That's right, with Daylesford Farm and the Bamford Haybarn Spa already residing in Kingham, it's no surprise that Lady Carole Bamford wanted to widen her organic empire by taking on this 18th century pub. It's become a dream destination for food and drink lovers, the health concious, and those just wanting to escape the city life. 

The Wild Rabbit's dining room serves lunch and dinner seven days a week. There's a separate bar menu for the pub side, which serves smaller, heartier fare for a few less pennies. Where possible they use organic ingredients from their own garden - picked fresh each morning and delivered straight to the kitchen - and their menu celebrates seasonal produce from local suppliers... You'd expect nothing less.

Michelin named The Wild Rabbit as 'Pub of The Year' in their 2015 guide - high praise indeed - so we were excited to test it out, and having previously seen Executive Chef Tim Allen on BBC's Great British Menu, we knew we were in capable hands. 

Quickly ditching the car in the car park (my bird poo splattered Seat didn't fit in with all the shiny new Range Rovers), first appearances were great; wisteria creeps across the front of the building, with comedy rabbit shaped bushes inviting you in. Inside, you immediately feel countrified with Cotswold stone, leather wingback chairs, aged wooden furniture, a roaring fire and a handful of pub dogs. The dining room is through the back, over the well; it's big and airy with lots of stylish decor, a long central table (looking after the tempting cheese selection), and the open kitchen in the corner. 

The menu is concise; five starters, five mains (plus two steaks), and five desserts (if you include cheese as an option). They have a decent wine list too, though seeing as I was designated driver for the day, I couldn't get involved. Instead, it was just the one Bloody Mary for me whilst The Chap had a couple of Hooky beers. 

Sourdough slices slathered with butter, we awaited our first course. I opted for Mackerel, served two ways, with Yorkshire rhubarb, pickled cucumber and frozen horseradish (£13.50). I loved the contrast of the flaky cooked mackerel against the fresh tartare, but it was the horseradish ice cream that really wowed me. The Chap went for the Quail; roasted breasts, Morteau sausage, smoked shallot, confit leg and lardo raviolo, with verjus reduction (£13.50). I politely only tried a teeny bit of quail seeing as it's such a small bird, and it was gorgeous. 

My main course was Rump of English veal, fricassée of braised veal, confit shallot, onion purée and baby capers (£26.00), that I ordered with a side of buttery purple sprouting broccoli (£4). That juicy pink rump was faultless; the onions and mushrooms gave the dish a deep earthy flavour, whilst the capers added bursts of acidity, ensuring it felt light and spring-like. 

The Chap went for the 10oz rib eye steak - dry aged for 40 days and cooked over charcoal - which came with hand cut chips, Daylesford leaves and a sauce of your choice (£30). He picked the tomato-y Bois boudran, a new one for the both of us. No matter how tasty it was, the fact it came on a small(!) wooden board with individual bowls for each component was a little frustrating. It might look neat for presentation, but it makes the logistics of eating near impossible. That said, the chunky chips were so good that all could be forgiven, and thank god they weren't stacked up like Jenga! With such a thick crispy casing, they almost verge on being classed as roast potatoes; I'll be ordering a portion 'for the table' next time. 

White Chocolate, gariguette strawberries, Yorkshire rhubarb and buckler sorrel (£8.50) was my final course - something I'd spied on social media before our visit. Not only do the ingredients have me written all over them, but it was the most photogenic dish of the lot. Bright with height, sweet but tart, and it had a great range of textures - I do love the snap of chocolate and the crunch of meringue. 

The Chap had the Cheesecake with Braeburn apple and caramelised honey (£7). I didn't get a look in on this one - it must've been good - but I admired the glass-like sugar disc on top before me and my phone were batted away so that he could enjoy his dessert in peace. 

We moved through to the pub to sit next to the fire with a coffee and the paper, and were surprised with a couple of freshly baked lemon syrup madeleines as petit fours. Such a nice touch, especially straight out of the oven. 

The Wild Rabbit is by no means cheap, but where is in such picturesque Cotswold locations? A three course meal with a drink and service averages at around £60 a head, and whilst everything was cooked beautifully, perhaps we expected to be a bit more excited for the money? We both agreed that the starters were our favourite course, followed by desserts, then mains - those chips come in a league of their own. 

We'll certainly go back - I can see myself escaping for hours in its rustic charm - but next time we'll just try out their bar menu, and maybe adopt a dog to join us.

Ross & Ross Pop Up at The Straw Kitchen

A couple of weeks ago, Saturday 21st March, The Chap and I ventured up to the North Cotswolds for dinner. We wouldn't usually travel almost an hour for dinner without having somewhere to stay, but this was a bit different.

Ross & Ross, those lovely chaps who feed me their 10 hour slow roasted lamb shoulder with salsa verde every year at the Cheltenham Food & Drink Festival, were hosting a pop up. I managed to miss the first one so made every effort to get in quick on the tickets for the second event at a "secret location". Turns out, it was at the same venue as before, Whichford Pottery's Straw Kitchen, but I'm kind of glad about that; after seeing the gorgeous photos Dan Walker took at the last one, I was desperate to see the place for myself (and FYI their scrawled out blackboard menu sounds like it'd be worth a return trip!).

Photo Credit: Dan Walker

There were three "social eating tables" inside the Straw Kitchen, which is perfect for pop up supper club style things. However, two large groups had booked tickets, and there were only a handful of us who didn't know anyone else; sat on a table all together, it kind of felt as though we were gatecrashing someone's birthday party! It didn't matter too much, we made good conversation with another couple who were getting married, and had also enquired about Ross & Ross's wedding catering!

Photo Credit: Dan Walker

For £35 per person, we had a 5 courses and it was BYOB. The Chap got lucky and I was designated driver for the night, so we arrived armed with two bottles of already opened wine (oops) and a couple of Fentimans soft drinks to keep me entertained, though I was pretty envious every time I heard a prosecco cork pop!

The menu was 'Spring' themed, and each course sounded right up my street. That said, I'm still a little gutted that I didn't get to try the scotch egg that everyone was banging on about after the last event. Social media was full of pictures of those runny yolked beauties! And apologies for the crappy pictures - a single tea light was never going to produce a good photo.

Photo Credit: Ross & Ross

We started with Jerusalem Artichoke & Morel Soup; thick, earthy and its overall brown-ness was brightened up with a vivid orange nasturtium flower. Since Waitrose have started stocking those little knobbly artichokes, I've been buying them at every opportunity; thankfully I'm not sick of them, and this was a great start to the evening.

An intriguing 'Chicken Lollipop' was next, which was essentially like a refined, more flavoursome KFC. Big spices on the crispy coating were tamed down with an accompanying sweet-sticky-glazed chicken wing. I remember watching Rebecca Seal revealing how to eat a chicken wing in a clean, lady-like fashion. Alas, I couldn't remember how she did it, so I just went down the messy, all over my fingers and face route.

The Falafel with Tahini & Basil Dip was a favourite dish amongst many. Too often people try to unnecessarily pimp up falafel - if it ain't broke, don't fix it - I'm glad to report Ross & Ross' falafel were perfect.

Our main course was a plump piece of Grimsby Smoked Cod Loin, Brown Shrimp Butter Sauce, Purple Sprouting and Pea Puree. Excellent springtime fare, and my fave course of the night. With all this sustainable fish jazz that's been going on in recent years, I'd kind of fallen out of favour with cod in trying to buy a broader range, but I think I shouldn't shun ye olde faithful in future.

A duo of desserts rounded the evening off; first a Poached Rhubarb & Vanilla Custard Crunch, which was ACE. I only wish my little pot was twice the size, the firm but sweet pink rhubarb partnered with the vanilla flecked custard and crumble topping is my idea of heaven. The Hot Chocolate & Orange Pudding was tasty too, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I put my spoon in and the middle was still molten, but it really was all about the rhubarb.

We retired to the sofas in front of the log burner, with a coffee in hand, before hitting the road. It was such a lovely evening, and time went so quickly. Ross & Ross sure know how to host a decent pop up, and I'll be keeping an eye out for future events!

P.S. Did you notice the gorgeous crockery? I'd happily have some of those Whichford Pottery plates in my kitchen!
P.P.S. Check out the rural-chic toilet!...