The Ethicurean
Wrington, Somerset
*After 13 years at Barley Wood Garden, The Ethicurean will be closing its doors permanently from mid-October 2023. Exciting new projects are promised.*
Excitement starts to build half a mile before you reach this lovingly restored Victorian walled kitchen garden, as the breathtaking panorama of the Mendips reveals itself. On arrival, the walk through a bower of apple trees and up a steep brick path between two beautifully planted borders only heightens anticipation as you reach what was the old potting shed (now the restaurant). Any doubts engendered by the somewhat pretentious website and very strict booking conditions are swept away by the warm welcome and relaxed atmosphere. The artfully shabby white-walled 'glasshouse' dining room sensibly doesn’t try to compete for your attention with the stunning view or the Noma-inspired food on your plate. Lunch and the evening ‘Ethicurean Experience’ are fixed-price set menus, based on what is good in the garden and has been foraged from the surrounding hills. It’s definitely not cheap but then a commitment to ethical employment, food production and animal husbandry, plus the upkeep of the garden and orchards, are not without cost; also, the skill, inventiveness and precision of the cooking is impressive. Even the simplest ingredients can shine – witness a coil of courgette ribbons bathed in a pool of fermented goat's butter and shiso oil, stippled with dots of silky, sweet fermented black garlic purée and paper-thin crispy nettle leaves. Meat and fish are used sparingly and treated with great respect. A shimmering fillet of confit trout in smoky fish oil comes with a salad of seared broccoli, samphire and seaweed, bound together by a velvety kohlrabi and smoked fish velouté. Puddings are showstoppers: an apple and pastry combination turned into something extraordinary by the addition of burnt spruce sugar, blackcurrant-leaf ice cream and a medlar sauce so intensely sweet, rich and fruity that it is difficult not to beg for just a little more. Various ‘libations’ are on offer, including their home-pressed cider, foraged shrubs, cordials and tinctures, as well as a fine selection of low-intervention wines, several from Somerset. Also check out the cocktails made from Ethicurean-distilled gin.
Dining Information:
Private dining room, Separate bar, Parking, Pre-payment required
Barley Wood Walled Garden, Long Lane, Wrington, Somerset BS40 5SA
01934 245888
