Salt

It was a crowd-funding campaign, set up last year, that enabled chef Paul Foster to open his debut restaurant, Salt, on Stratford-upon-Avon’s Church Street. He’s worked at Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons and as head chef at Mallory Court in Warwickshire over the course of a career that began in his teens. Paul describes his style of cooking as modern British with an emphasis on wild, seasonal ingredients and purity of flavour. Salt is more relaxed than your average fine-dining restaurant, with a lively back room that offers views of the kitchen. Both the seven-course tasting menu and à la carte prioritise meat and fish. Vegetables do sing here (charred Hispi cabbage served with cod and a jerusalem artichoke purée with pork cheek are highlights), but as accompaniments rather than dishes in their own right. For dessert, expect innovations such as goat’s milk ice with lime zest, and milk chocolate aero with banana toffee and brown butter ice cream. salt-restaurant.co.uk