When people think about moving out of London into – that dreaded phrase – the commuter belt, one of the worries that often arises is what one might leave behind in so doing. The real price of a old stone village house with a garden, a vegetable patch, a few fruit trees and birdsong in the morning rather than sirens coming through through the cardboard walls of your flat. I mean the ease of trips to the theatre, or late nights at galleries, let alone the possibility of getting home after a late night in Soho without needing to remortgage the house. But most importantly of all, for me, I mean food and drink, the basic stuff of life that is also one of its greatest joys.
Now on the basis that we cannot all move to Bray, this unfortunately means swapping Clipstone for meals at the local branch of Cote, and bye bye Soho, hello Wetherspoons. It means trading experimental West African food for acceptable burgers and unacceptable Sunday lunches in overhyped not-that-olde world pubs. Yep, that terrifying.
Or does it mean that?
Well, it certainly does not have to, and Wild in Berkhamsted is a perfect case in point.
Wild was founded by chef patron Matt Larcombe, who used to lead the kitchens at the Fat Duck Group’s highly regarded gastropubs in Bray and Oxshott. He has pedigree, and principles – he believes that menus should be governed by the British seasons. To this end his new kitchen sources the majority of its fresh ingredients from its own farm in nearby Radlett, supplemented by a trusted network of UK suppliers (there being, it has to be noted, a shortage of seafood being produced in Radlett).
The core of the changing menu reflects the main focus of the farm and these suppliers – there is a constancy of excellent beef for example, and bream is regularly on offer, but other dishes and importantly the detail of each is determined by whatever the farm delivers each day. I like that. I imagine everyone likes that.
The venue itself is slightly deceptive, but in a good way. In that it is more clever in design than is immediately apparent. It looks a bit boxy with huge clear windows on firs sight. A bit like a giant, expensive garden room at one of the nearby mansions. “Mayfair Luxe” it is not. It is far better than that – a wonderful place to eat rather than pose. Elegant, spare but comfortable seating. Tables placed with space to ensure no eavesdropping. Calm, considered modern crockery. And a really clever draw in which the cutlery is kept – see photo below – I love that, and it tells you everything about Larcombe’s attention to detail.
An excellent glass of English sparkling wine accompanied a look through the menu, from which I could have ordered everything, but we nibbled on crispy pig’s head, passion fruit piccalillini (moreish, and clever with the acidity cutting through the meat and some frankly awesome hash browns topped with apple and crab. You could sit in the lounge area and go all tapas on those for hours, let alone the other nibbles such as Adam’s Porthilly oyster with green chilli and tarragon.
But choices mean being forced to choose, and so we plumped for pollock crudo with citrus and jalapeño – fresh, delicious and well done for choosing a sustainable fish Then flatbreads, first with Baron Bigod cheese and wild farm, honey and second with potted shrimp. Epic bread, but the while the former was nigh on perfect in its sticky sour-sweetness, the latter was just over-seasoned and the sole miss of the evening. I suspect the latter was a mistake in prep as these guys know what they are doing with flatbreads.
But all of that was merely amusing my bouche for the main event, where we had ordered a sharing dish of whole grilled sea bream with a mussels and parsley sauce. It was epic. The skin nearly black, crispy and delicious, and moist but firm, pearl white skin underneath. The sauce came in a separate bowl and together they were a thing of beauty – the green parsley sauce verdant and bright as a spring meadow with plump jusicy mussels nestling inside. God the whole was delicious. And at £60 for the whole fish, a serving that they noted could easily feed four. For the record, Emily and I were happy to scoff down half each. A side order of creamy, perfect mash also came with a dark, almost sticky green sauce and the savoy cabbage with bacon and turnip was excellent (was it ever not going to be?).
This is proper cooking, but approachable food. For a fish fanatic like me it was heaven on a plate, but for the more carnivorous among you I watched a whole sirloin on the bone pass by to another table and thought I’m coming back and I’m going to have one of those.
To finish it could only be the tarte tatin to share, which was gooey and caramelised with a firm but flaky base. We could only manage half but I can attest that the other half made it safely back to our Cotswold’s farmhouse and tasted if anything even better the next day.
The staff also deserve a special mention for that rare but so precious thing – enthusiasm. They clearly love working at Wild, and I can see why. And what a difference it makes.
So, you can eat well in the ‘burbs it turns out. Or at least you can in very posh and expensive ones like Berkamsted. But I would not leave it to the commuiters alone. It only takes 31 minutes from Euston to Berkhamsted. Trains leave every 15 minutes and cost £22 return. So as the evenings grow light why not hop on a train and try Wild? It really is among the best places I have eaten in this year. You will love it.
Wild, 247-249 High St, Berkhamsted HP4 1AB – Wild Restaurant – 01442 874491
Open for dinner Tuesday to Saturday 6pm to 10pm and lunch Wednesday to Saturday 12pm to 2.30pm