Attention to detail shines through in everything they do here, right down to the sensational salt and vinegar crisps
The Woodspeen, near Newbury, Berkshire RG20 8BN (01635 265 070). Meal for two, including drinks and service: £80-£125
They had me at the bowl of salt and vinegar crisps. These were cooked on site, each disc of potato a touch darker than the pallid, mass-produced variety. They were that little bit oilier than uptight people would think decent, in a way that might leave greasy fingerprints on napkins and bank notes. And then came the hit, not of a chemical, frown-inducing acetic acid, but of real vinegar reduced to its very essence. And yes, of course, it came with our pre-lunch drinks and was designed to make us work up a thirst, but it did so with elegance and enthusiasm and charm. A crisp that can charm you is worth travelling for. Mostly it spoke of obsessive attention to detail. I like that in a kitchen charged with feeding me.
The chef's modernist techniques are now used in service of the food rather than for flashiness
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