The Artichoke

We were lucky enough to be the only lunchtime diners or unlucky if you take an opposing view and crave company of others whilst dining. It didn’t matter to us being window side in such a cosy area, where we were able to view the world drifting by and were afforded undivided attention. I don’t know why we had delayed our visit to this 24 seater premises as they were established 8 years ago, except for the fact that they had a protracted closure as explained by SqM. The break did them no harm from the perspectives of service and kitchen skill as we were treated to some refined dishes from the set menu.

Ignoring the numbers game which I suppose they have to do in accordance with the limited accommodation, they concentrate on careful sourcing, well thought through dishes to perfectly presented plates of food which happen to taste great. We opted for the same dishes of silky sweetcorn veloute with chicken, followed by slow cooked pork belly with a small segment of vanilla poached pear which sat very comfortably alongside fennel, new potatoes, carrots and meat juices. My partner’s iced blackberry parfait with warm miniature apple doughnuts was exquisite – artistically, texturally and in taste. Their a la carte menu incorporates more exotic ingredients such as langoustine, scallops, or lobster, and for the carnivore quail, slow cooked rib-eye or lamb, which changes according to availability and season. Wine deserves mention – we chose a top notch bio-dynamic Gigondas. I only mention bio-d’ because I don’t recall quaffing such before and it was a classy, characterful Gigondas, but part of the ethos behind it sounds rather cerebral to me. All I know is that the taste warranted a £45 price tag and we were happy to part with £41 for two lunches.

Having read the review on Square Meal and looked at the web site, we visited the Artichoke for the set lunch. Sadly, although the decor is appealing and the service friendly and professional ,the quality of cooking did not meet the required level. As starters, croquettes of oxtail were over floury, glutinous and lacked flavour (hard to do with oxtail) and the hot smoked salmon need to have been rather close to the fumes. Game casserole was small, lacked the richness of flavour that game should posess and appeared to be just the offcuts from the free range venison on the a la carte menu. The vegetarian option, a cheese souufle was hugely over cooked and should not have been released from the kitchen. The wine list is confidently priced and does not represent value. Every establishment can have a bad day and we may visit again if passing through but a first experience was not good.