ANDY COOPER is wowed by a tasting menu experience with a difference set in the Somerset countryside
Sustainable. Ethical. Responsible. Three words it is not uncommon to encounter when dining out these days. And yet the regularity with which one bumps into them does lead to a slight fear they have just become buzzwords for restaurateurs. Do they actually live up to their words with deeds?
Well, they do at The Ethicurean and I insist you don’t take my word for it and visit to judge for yourself. Because when you do, not only will you have confirmed that I’m not telling porky pies, but you will also, like me, have experienced one of the greatest dining out experiences it will have been your pleasure to enjoy.
And ‘experience’ is the watchword here. Dinner at The Ethicurean – located on the edge of the quant village of Wrington, 15 miles from Bristol - is not simply about the food, strange though that may sound. From the moment you walk from the car park into the stunning kitchen garden it feels like you are being enveloped in a blanket of brilliance, beauty and bonhomie.
It starts with a greeting at the gates from head chef Mark McCabe, who is cooking mini tacos on a tiny barbecue and garnishing them with the latest delights from the garden, along with some kitchen creations which demonstrate he and his team are at the top of their game when it comes to innovation and making the most of the produce around them.
That produce is at the core of The Ethicurean’s menu. If they can’t grow it or make it themselves then they do their best to source it locally or from sustainable suppliers. The restaurant’s mission statement is ‘Responsibly Sourced. Thoughtfully Presented.’ And they live up to this in everything they do.
The team has pushed the boundaries of what a restaurant can be. It has created a fully immersive experience that takes guests on a truly unique culinary journey, celebrating the finest ingredients from the garden and beyond. It strives to distil and refine itsinspiration into an experience you won’t forget.
That means your tasting menu is a 14-point excursion around such treats as kohlrabi filled with apple, kohlrabi and shallot relish or onion grilled in the skins, glazed with reduced plum with fermented mushroom powder. Or perhaps my particular favourite; a tangle-the-tastebuds dessert of yoghurt and honey sponge, glazed in elderflower syrup, covered in a beetroot moose with candied beetroot stems.
You get the picture. This is no ordinary menu served in extraordinary ways and in an amazing locale. As you watch the colours of the sky change over the Somerset hills from the restaurant window, the enchantment is complete. Adding to the experience is a wine flight which runs the gamut from flavoursome reds to an aromatic dessert wine. And for the non-drinker the ‘no and low’ flight had me wondering whether I should have offered to drive for the evening!
The Ethicurean needs top billing for its innovation, for its passion and for, well, just the elan of it all. Heck, even the background music playlist had us cooing and asking for a Spotify playlist. It was the soundtrack to a sensational evening, assaulting the senses in a superb setting.
The Ethicurean Evening Experience runs from Wednesday to Saturday £150 per person, VAT and service included. The all-inclusive drinks flight is £65; the wine flight is £55; the cider flight is £40 and the no and low flight is £40.
theethicurean.com
