There’s been much excitement and anticipation at the prospect of Dominic Chapman and Nigel Sutcliffe’s new pub, The Jack O’Newbury in the Berkshire village of Binfield. This is a dream team who worked together at The Fat Duck – Dominic in the kitchen and Nigel front of house. Dominic has a reputation for honest, hearty seasonal cooking of well-sourced local produce, and here in their new site there’s room for a decent herb garden as well as a well-thought-out and landscaped car park in the two acres of ground they have surrounding the place.
It’s early days yet – the pub only opened on 2 September – and the rooms still smell of new paint and freshly sawn wood, but the indications are good. It’s a light, bright room, seemingly naturally divided into a snug area, an open and welcoming saloon bar and a large conservatory on the side dedicated to dining. On a Wednesday lunchtime, locals wander in to see what’s on offer and seem very satisfied with what they find. There are several ales and ciders on tap for under £7, the house wine is, at the moment, just £24, there are plenty of wines by the glass and carafe, and some simple but very well-thought-through cocktails… a limoncello and basil spritz, as strikingly appealing as it is refreshing, and a proper bargain at under £10.
The kitchen, with its menu offering pub classics, is certainly competent – generous steaks and chops are grilled and served with good sauces and excellent triple-cooked fries; there’s classic haddock and chips with mushy peas, and Scotch eggs and buttermilk fried chicken to nibble on as well. But look a little deeper and you’ll realise that this is under the guidance of a proper foodie: a curly octopus tentacle – this year’s trendiest ingredient – is chargrilled and served as tender as imaginable, on a bed of hummus bedecked with enormous caperberries. A generous chunk of Cornish cod of pearlescent succulence comes atop a cushion of rich, punchy romesco sauce, a scattering of cockles adding a quirky finishing touch; and slow-braised Tamworth pork finds itself the filling for bao (we think it finds its way into the soy-glazed pork kebabs as well).
Puds are classic, generous and well made – a blueberry cheesecake is seven parts filling to one part buttery biscuit base, but so far there are no big surprises among the Cambridge burnt creams and sticky toffee puddings. The cheeseboard, on the other hand, is a homage to the best of British, with Stinking Bishop offered alongside the likes of Colston Bassett Stilton, Tunworth and Black Cow Cheddar.
Though everything here is brand spanking new and the whole operation will need to bed in a bit, we think the Binfield folk should be happy – we predict that this pub will run and run. One caveat, though – there’s a set lunch menu during the week, which at £22/£28 for two/three courses looks extraordinarily good value for money… until you realise that the battered fish is less than half the size of their normal portion and that the chips are an extra £7. Bear this in mind and we’re sure there’s enough here to make a return visit worthwhile.
A longstanding member of the Guild of Food Writers, Margaret Clancy is a London-based writer whose restaurant reviews and features have appeared in the Daily Express, The Times, The Evening Standard and SquareMeal.
