REVIEW: What it’s like to eat at The Walnut Tree

WHAT’S better than dining at one of Wales’ top restaurants? Staying at the neighbouring cottages for a cosy night instead of having to worry about driving home or booking a taxi, perhaps.

That’s exactly what we did when we checked out The Walnut Tree’s menu and the on-site Caradog Cottages, which are run by the same group that owns the Angel Hotel in nearby Abergavenny. We were visiting to find out more about the team behind one of the country’s most beloved restaurants, run by Shaun Hill and his crew.

We tested out the dinner menu, mid-week, and stayed at the Old Post Office cottage for one night in late March. Here’s what we thought...

It’s a mark of a restaurant’s calibre when the way you are greeted as you walk through the door continues effortlessly, without being too invasive, right through your evening’s dining experience.

the staff at the Walnut tree, paired with memorable dishes created by a kitchen team led by the legendary shaun Hill, made for a perfect experience.

We were greeted with warm, friendly smiles, swift drinks orders and a cosy fire in the small bar area which has been the same for decades, as we were told. In fact, the whole place is timeless. It has the charm of an old-style pub bar as you enter and the dining rooms next to it have a contrasting white decor with complementing art and simple table set-up. It’s not fussy and it’s welcoming for those who may be worried about an overly formal affair considering the restaurant is a long-time Michelin star holder.

Right then, on to the most vital part – the food. It was a difficult choice, I’ll be honest with you – this evening’s menu was as attractive as it was filled with options (Etienne, the manager, helpfully explained which dishes were low-gluten or were gluten-free completely, both naturally or with a few tweaks) but it didn’t take us long to order. Rather than a tasting menu, the Walnut tree lets you pick what you’d like – and this suited us down to the ground on this occasion.

We went for rabbit and ham pudding with celeriac remoulade (£18) and John Dory and scallop with dashi broth (£20) for starters.

John Dory with the dashi broth was a perfect pair, the umami in the broth adding a depth of flavour to the fish and making this starter a moreish delight.

the two excellent first courses had us champing at the bit for the mains and we ordered the lemon sole with mussels, clams and saffron sauce (£36) and the spiced rack of lamb which came with samosa, sweetbread, potato and spinach curry (£38).

they blew us away. the lemon sole, pictured below, was lagooned in a vibrant, silky, yellow saffron sauce, which was both rich and delicate – how, we don’t know, but it attests to the calibre of talent in the kitchen. It also seemed to last forever, which, I don’t know about you, is a win-win when you’re eating something so delicious.

With a penchant for curry flavours, ordering the lamb, pictured below, was a given. Again, delicately flavoured so you could identify the quality and taste of the meat and with all the elements of the dish bound together in one bite – it was an ‘oh my God’ situation. the lamb practically melted in the mouth, a perfect main, with lots of elements to savour, the perfectlycooked meat remained uncompromised.

We wrapped up with a pomegranate sorbet and coffees and some petit fours, a touch of the sweet stuff to top off a perfect meal that I’ll be thinking about for weeks to come.