Wilding
Oxford, Oxfordshire
*Ben Wood (ex-Fenchurch Restaurant at Sky Garden) has taken over the kitchen. Watch for a new review coming soon.*
You’d be hard-pressed to find a better fit for affluent, civilised Jericho than Wilding – a wine bar/wine shop/brasserie with a cool jazz soundtrack. Inside, it's a surprisingly capacious venue, stretching back far beyond the double shop frontage – and there’s no doubting the raison d’être. Enter stage right and wine bottles are proudly displayed on shelves reaching up the ceiling. To the left is the wine bar, populated by enthusiasts working their way through the Old World-accented list (including interesting English labels, organics and low-sulphite choices), or perhaps sampling tasters from the top-end Enomatic selection. Around 50 wines are available by the glass, or you can opt for a bottle from the shop and pay an extra £15 corkage. Beyond this is the bistro area, with tiled walls, bare floorboards, cosy booths and counters designed for drinks and snacks; further back still is a wood-fired pizza oven, the restaurant (leafy murals on the walls) and conservatory. The all-day menu encompasses sharing boards, small plates (starters) and ‘from the grill’ mains. Unctuous, wobbly blobs of bone marrow nicely matched by pickles and toasted sourdough made a more satisfying opener at inspection than an albeit well-soused fillet of red mullet with picked vegetables, whose modest orange emulsion failed to counter the acidity. Despite the main-course heading, grills are in a minority – we liked the succulent guinea fowl ballotine with mushrooms and creamed cauliflower, though the addition of yet more slices of pickled onion over the kale was mystifying. Shrimp pizza came on a doughy base with a balsamic and cream-cheese topping dotted with the little brown crustaceans. Puddings are certainly worth considering – especially if the plum, walnut and oat crumble (tart, crunchy and sweet in all the right places) is available.
Dining Information:
Private dining room, Separate bar, Counter seating, Wheelchair access, Family friendly, Dog friendly
11-12 Little Clarendon Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 2HP
01865 985630
