Address: Llandewi Skirrid, Abergavenny, NP7 8AW, Wales

Telephone number: 01873852797

Website: http://www.thewalnuttreeinn.com/

Date of visit: 25 November 2009

Approximate cost per head: £20

Comments on wine list/beer: Very interesting list. Reasonably priced.

Summary:
I have missed two great chefs at the peak of their trade. They operated at The Carve Angel and The Walnut Tree.

The Walnut Tree, whilst under the ownership of Francesco offered Welsh/Italian cooking. A few years ago, Francesco retired. His son took over the management but it did not survive. Very similar to the great Patrick Rance who ran a cheese shop in Pangbourne – I drove miles just to buy cheese there. Patrick passed away, his son relocated the shop to Abingdon and then it went down hill and finally closed.

Now, to happier times.

A year ago, Shaun Hill (The Merchant House, Ludlow), took over The Walnut Tree and things have been looking up again.

I went there with a couple of friends including David Powell. His family farmed around Abergavenny before Francesco made his home there. According to David, it was just a farmer’s pub in the 60s. David is a well known Bourbon and whisky connoisseur as well as a top international veterinary surgeon in the horse racing world.

This place is like a gastropub (i.e. charge restaurant price but there is no table cloth).

We all had the set lunch (£16.50 for 2 courses and £22 for 3 courses) which was very good value for money and the place was pretty full.

The menu is essentially modern british. For starters we had plaice goujons and “pigs head ceomesqui”. Ok, let me explain, essentially, it is the meat from the pigs head, made into a large sausage. This is then bread crumbed and fried so it looks like a fish cake on salad. This is not the first time I came across this. The best recipe is in a book called Momofuku by David Chang (ISBN 978-0-307-45195-8). This is one of those “yuk” recipe that taste fantastic.

For main course, we all had braised ox cheek – slow braised dark meat – with mash potato. The other dish on offer was smoke haddock. Ox cheek and oxtail are fantastic meats and they are really cheap. If you want to cook it, just use a beef bourguignonne recipe. Roast the meat in a hot oven for 20 minutes to get rid of the fat then follow the recipe. The deserts on offer were bakewell tart and white chocolate mousse.

The wine list was very extensive and it was also very strange. It starts at £16 and goes up to £148 for a bottle of  puligny montrachet 97 and £148 for a 96 barolo. We had a bottle of Chilean Cabernet Franc for £24 which was pretty good. I had never drank  cabernet franc as a single grape before – it is normally used as part of a mix (less than 10%) in making Bordeaux red wine.

On the whole, it is very good. So if you are in the vicinity, do pop in. Apparently Shaun Hill is down here once every month.

Eddie

PS The Walnut Tree was reviewed in June 2010 by the Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/7821030/Restaurant-Review-The-Walnut-Tree.html

Submission type: Ask Eddie

Subject: Top London Restaurant for Romantic Meal

Text: Dear Eddie,

For our wedding anniversary last year my husband and I went to the top floor of Smiths of Smithfield in London which was amazing both in terms of service and quality of food. We are looking for a restaurant of a similar quality in London to go to this year but don’t want to go to a restaurant in a hotel. We would like British/French food. 

Any suggestions?

Many thanks,

laura Richards

Hi Laura,

Your previous place seemed to have offered ambience, views as well as good food. If John Torode reads this column, he should be very proud of the Top Floor at Smiths of Smithfield.

I am goiung to assume that you are happy with £50 a head without drinks

Lets start with 3 restaurants with views:

Oxo tower Restaurant – Oxo Tower Wharf , Barge House St, London SE1 9PH. T: 0207 803 3888 o

http://www.harveynichols.com/output/Page128.asp

This place gives you a great view across The Thames.

Next,

Galvin at Windows, The London Hilton, Park Lane, W1K 1BE 0207 208 4021

http://www.galvinatwindows.com/

 This gives you a view across Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace.  I know that you said no hotels but increasingly, top chefs operate out of Hotels on a “rental” basis and its not the same kitchen as room service. This is modern British cooking with a twist.

Another place is Gary Rodes’ Rodes 24 at Tower 24, Old Broad St, London EC2N 1HQ, T: 0207 877 7703. This is on top of the Gerkin and Rodes is always reliable.

http://www.rhodes24.co.uk/

All three places offers great food and views.

However, if you would prefer diner followed by a West End show, try Marco Pierre-White’s

The Criterion, 224 Piccadilly, London W1J 9HP T:0207 930 0488

Don’t expect to see him. He has given up cooking but he has good chefs working for him. The art deco restaurant is one of the most interesting in London and you are right next door to Piccadilly Circus.

Finally, if you simply wish to look into each other’s eyes with minimal distractions, try

Le Gavroche, 43 Upper Brook St, London W1K 7QR, T: 0207  408 0881. This is managed by the other Masterchef  judge Michel Roux Jr. There is no better classic french restaurant in London.

http://www.le-gavroche.co.uk/

Hope this is what you want.

Eddie

30 November 2009

Location:

Telephone number: 0207 490 1676

Website: www.gauchorestaurants.com

Date of visit: 25 November 2009

Approximate cost per head: £45+

Comments on wine list/beer: Very extensive and expensive wine list especially Argentinean wines

Summary:
This restaurant occupies a large room between Smihfield Market and the Barbican.

There are two kitchens, an open grill on show to the diners and one at the back where they prepare the additional parts to the meal.

The room is “darkish” with black tables and chairs covered in black and white hides and it is part of an upmarket chain of steakhouses.

On the day we went, the place was half full with diners mainly on expense accounts.

The steaks start at 250g and goesw up to 400g. You have a choice between rump, ribeye, sirloin and fillet. You then add potatoes, vegetables, sauces etc. There are other dishes on the menu such as empanadaes  and several  Argentinean dishes etc. The meat is brought to the table on a block of wood – just in case you do not know what cut you want or is not aware of the amount of fat on the different cuts. You can also have their version of mixed grill at £39 or a sample platter of the different steaks.

We chose fillet, ribeye and rump between us.

My ‘medium’ rump was cooked on the rare side – they are using US definition instead of UK definition. The steak was well seasoned and well cooked. However, I then had the saltiest chips and vegetables I have had for a while. I do not know if the chef had an off day or he/she preferred to go OTT. I did not complain as our “friends” were obviously happy with the amount of salt. So beware!

The wine list is something to behold. There are pages of Argentinean wines listed by the type of grapes as well as the usual “old world” wines. They also showed the altitude next to the vineyard – completely meaningless to me even though my understanding is that the higher we go, the cooler it gets. We had a bottle of Cab which was excellent.

On the whole, it was a good meal but restaurants need to understand that there are a few of us that are trying to reduce our intake of salt.

Eddie