SquareMeal Review
Bronze Award
A restaurant as full of culture and character as any exhibit in the glorious Tate Britain, this aptly named eatery comes wrapped in a full-size Whistler mural depicting a stylised hunt for mythical rare meats. Once described as ‘the most amusing room in Europe’, it’s now home to some dedicated British cooking from a serious-minded kitchen: carefully assembled heritage tomato salad, salmon terrine and slow-cooked beef are typical lunch dishes, alongside more contemporary ideas including whipped goats’ cheese with honeycomb, figs, sorrel and mustard dressing or Hampshire chalk-stream trout with squash, girolles, ceps and watercress. To conclude, expect fine British cheeses and nostalgic desserts such as baked apple with dried fruits, toffee sauce and custard. In other words, a repertoire that suits tourists and culture vultures down to a T. Decades of careful wine buying mean that Hamish Anderson’s brilliantly curated list is a thing of beauty – priced for enjoyment rather than mere admiration.