Table-hopping

Our latest restaurant recommendations – longer versions and more at Omagazine. com – plus news from across the UK

Our newest restaurant recommendations, plus news from around the UK

PASCERE, BRIGHTON

Just off Brighton’s busy warren of alleyways, The Lanes, Amanda Menahem and chef Johnny Stanford (previously of The Pass in Horsham) have produced an elegant addition to the local restaurant scene. Its interiors are spot-on – from the teal and mustard palette to the white-tiled counter looking on to the open kitchen upstairs and the thin-stemmed glasses hanging above the bar.

Johnny uses his flair for clean, refined flavour combinations to create à la carte and small-plate menus, plus a tasting menu for the evenings. Small plates include chicken croquettes packed with chunky pieces of chicken leg and thigh meat in a béchamel sauce, with caramelised chicken skin mayo. A starter of cured trout was served with a horseradish cream, while a plate of roasted beets came with an airy goat’s cheese mousse and slithers of fresh apple.

The highlight was beef cheek pappardelle – a chunk of melting beef cheek slow-cooked for six hours in a stock reduction that was then poured over the meat and its bed of homemade pasta ribbons. Puddings are by no means an afterthought. Amanda recommended the buttermilk sponge, selling it as a “lighter sticky toffee pudding”. True to her promise, the sponge had a thin crisp golden crust and came with milk ice cream, honeycomb and a crunchy milk crumb.

Waiters were happy to recommend wines to pair with each dish, speaking fluently about flavour notes. Slick service, stylish interiors and a chef with a respect for produce – this is a destination restaurant for Brighton. pascere.co.uk (Words by Alex Crossley)

WELLBOURNE, BRISTOL

With two well-known chefs behind the stoves, Ross Gibbens and Michael Kennedy (of Dabbous, The Square and Launceston Place, to name a few), it’s fair to say that Wellbourne’s cooking game is stronger than many. Perhaps surprisingly then, the setting is relaxed and the food is seemingly simple – albeit with some unexpected flavour pairings. Butter is infused with fig leaf to go with superb homemade sourdough; grilled English sweetcorn is served with chicken skin and Piment d’Espelette (a type of pepper); while mackerel tartare is joined by cobnuts, gooseberries and plum kernel oil.

Vol au vents (already much Instagrammed) were crisp, beautifully bronzed and filled with diced veal, meaty mushrooms and shrimp, which delivered a lovely hit of heat. A Red Russian tomato – a variety from the south of France – was compressed before its juices were seasoned with celery and citrus, and then poured over the fruit at the table. Topped with slivers of fresh almond, basil and wild horseradish, it was a plateful we wanted to return for. Cod, flaking with just the nudge of a fork, was served with sea lettuce, aster, yellow courgettes and mussels. The problem with the menu is that everything sounds like something you want to eat.

This is no less true of ‘the afters’ selection, which appears to be anything but an afterthought. Our favourite was the lemon leaf number featuring the finest pastry ring rolled in demerara and topped with some lemonade loveliness dispensed from a CO2 canister, beneath which was pepper ice cream with juicy bilberries.

Wellbourne is a highlight of the south-west culinary landscape. We’re going back, pronto (if we can get a table). wellbourne.restaurant (Words by Kate Authers)

MILKWOOD, CARDIFF

Chefs Gwyn Myring and Tom Furlong return to their roots at this notable new addition to Cardiff’s dining scene. Going back to the kitchen where they first met 13 years ago, having sold their interests in The Potted Pig and Porro restaurants, the duo have opened a 26-cover “modern Welsh bistro”. Its high ceilings, forest-green banquettes and a classic corner bar create the perfect environment for Milkwood’s refined menu.

Dishes are simple but striking, pairing Wales’s homegrown haul with flavours from afar. Blushed duck breast with heady chicory and toasted hazelnuts was only outshone by its partnering tortellini stuffed with rich duck ragu. A second main course of golden turbot and brown shrimps, leeks and blackened Little Gem with pickled cucumbers further demonstrated the chefs’ skills for making masterpieces from modest ingredients.

The pared-back offering (four starters, five mains and two desserts) leaves those looking for sweet relief with limited inspiration, though we had no quarrels with the buttermilk junket with stewed rhubarb and fennel granite, or the dark chocolate and sea salt ganache, milk chocolate mousse and cherry.

Use of locally sourced and seasonal produce warrants the £8 benchmark for starters and £20 figure for mains – a good glass of wine comes in at around £6. Perhaps steeper than the going rate in Cardiff, this is still great value. milkwoodcardiff.com (Words by Kathryn Lewis)

ROOT, BRISTOL

Designed to be gentle on the environment, Root’s one-sheet menu of small plates (designed by head chef Rob Howell) is proudly almost all veggie, with just a few select meat and fish dishes. The drinks list features natural and biodynamic wines, as well as Somerset brandy. We order as we relax with a couple of gin bramble cocktails.

Warming cauliflower steak is heaped with more cauli, in the form of purée and shavings. Cashew milk makes for a rich, creamy base, while a squeeze of lemon adds zing. English burrata, framed by swirls of seeded dukkah and smoked rapeseed oil, is a heavenly blend of smooth and crunchy textures. Onglet tartare is a marvel. Beneath a nest of matchstick fries and plump, raw steak pieces is a cured, pickled egg yolk.

Round things off with the cherry mess: the cream and tart fruit pieces are tucked beneath an intact meringue which you must ‘mess’ yourself with a few hearty spoon thwacks. A brilliant and totally fitting, of-the-moment addition to this vibrant new Bristol restaurant quarter. eatdrinkbristolfashion. co.uk/root (Words by Rosie Sharratt)

STREET FOOD SPOT – CLAW

The guys at CLAW take sustainable fishing seriously – that’s why they only source crab and lobster from Salcombe. The menu is shellfish heavy, obviously. Warm brioche rolls are filled with crab or lobster and lemon mayo. Fries coated in smoked paprika, sesame seeds and shallots come with sweet white and brown crabmeat and samphire. CLAW now has a permanent home at Finsbury Avenue Square, London EC2. Don’t panic though, the stall will still be appearing at food festivals nationwide. claw.co.uk

SLIDE ON OVER

Adam Rawson, chef and two-time London Slider Decider champion, has collaborated with mini burger company Bite Me Burger to create sliders to enjoy at pop-ups Cha Chaan Teng in Holborn and The O Bar in Soho.

A thick patty with serious flavour is made from Galician aged beef for Beef Encounter and stacked with American cheese and secret burger sauce, while a large piece of buttermilk fried chicken is lifted with yuzu mayo in the Pluck Me. Be sure to order the Oreo milkshake, for a creamy and smooth chocolaty hit. bitemeburgerco.com