Restaurant reviews | The Walnut Tree, Abergavenny

Restaurant reviews

The Walnut Tree, Abergavenny

The Walnut Tree at Llandewi Skirrid has been on my radar for as long as I've been interested in eating out. First under Franco Taruschio and now Shaun Hill, it’s been a place I’ve returned to every couple of years, always wondering why I don’t go more often.

This week, when we visited for my husband’s birthday, was no exception. True, the gaffer (Shaun) was in town that night, the clientele a little more elderly than I remember, the bar and dining room stuck in bit of a 90s timewarp but the welcome and the food were as great as ever. And it didn’t rain. Hallelujah!

Being with two of our (grown-up - in theory at least) kids we gave the menu a thorough working through. My OH and I kicked off with fish - always Hill’s forte. Mine an unusual combination of plaice with cucumber and mustard sauce I remember from his Merchant House days, his a more indulgent dish of red mullet and scallops in a rich langoustine bisque I ended up sneaking off his plate.

My veggie daugher had light-as-air malfatti of spinach and ricotta that were worthy of Franco’s era and skinny meat-eating son a generous platter of Spanish charcuterie about which he unusually didn’t complain there wasn’t enough.

He was as pleased with his perfectly seared skirt of beef with crispy shallots - as was I with my rabbit fillet and liver with rabbit pudding, a light wobbly dome of delicate rabbit flavoured mousse that I’d chosen to go with the very good value 2010 Colinot Irancy Vieilles Vignes that we’d ordered. On the other hand it went equally well with OH’s very fresh skate with shrimps and dill. Only veggie daughter’s spring risotto seemed slightly off-key - a tasty but slightly garish plate of veg-dotted rice that would have met with strong disapproval from any self-respecting Piemontese.

We couldn’t agree whether to have puds or cheese so had both - sharing a generous cheeseboard for £10 (why can’t other restaurants do this rather than charging a fortune for a stingy cheese plate?) then ploughing in to coffee crème caramel with praline (perfect and I don’t even like coffee flavoured desserts), roasted nectarines with basil ice cream (unseasonal but lovely) and walnut tart with Poire William ice cream with which I made the mistake of having an extra Poire William on the side. It was that kind of evening.

Our bill came to a total of £267.50 for four including a half bottle of champagne, and a bottle of Leon Boesch Pinot Blanc, another well priced option from the very good wine list. More than we normally spend but great value for a special occasion. You could spend considerably more if you didn’t exercise restraint with the wine list. On the other hand the very good value set price lunch only costs £22 for two courses.

One thing fellow Walnut Tree followers might have noticed is that the cooking and presentation have become slightly more 'haute' in the last couple of years - a harkback to Hill’s more refined cooking at the Merchant House and Gidleigh Park - which is obviously why it now has a Michelin star.

Don't let that put you off though. The kitchen doesn't go in for foams, streaks or blobs - just good fresh ingredients respectfully treated. The Walnut Tree is a comforting sort of place. Hill won’t be there forever so go while you have the chance.

The Walnut Tree is at Llandewi Skirrid just outside Abergavenny. Te: 01873 852797

PS There are a couple of cottages down the road you can rent for the night if you don’t want to drive after this kind of orgy and a regular taxi service to and from Abergavenny. I’d take advantage of that if I were you (we rented one of the cottages)

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