The Hinds Head, Bray

Nestled prettily on the banks of the Thames, the village of Bray is just like any small English hamlet with one exception.  Or maybe that should be two: The Fat Duck and The Waterside Inn.  There are only 3 restaurants in the entire United Kingdom, deemed worthy of 3 Michelin stars (Gordon Ramsey is the other one), and two of them are within half a mile of each other in an otherwise anonymous spot just down the road from Windsor - go figure.  It really is a bit of a mystery and though there's clearly no shortage of money in this part of the world, it takes more than a village to support two restaurants at this end of the food chain.  The few times I've been there - and, yes, I have been fortunate to eat at both restaurants - I also find myself wondering where all the staff live.  It's not exactly a low-rent area after all.  Well, this blog is not about either The Fat Duck, or The Waterside Inn, but a much more affordable option - The Hinds Head. 

Part of the Heston Blumenthal stable, The Hinds Head was doing land-office business on a chilly Friday lunchtime.  We arrive in the middle of a power cut - bad timing - and are advised that though the electrician is now on the premises, there are no guaranties that the power will be up and running before the end of lunch service.  So, cold plates only in the meantime.  We are not deterred, and take our seats in the main dining room (there is a more casual bar area with tables and a separate bar menu) - after all, the wine will still be chilled, right?  And there are plenty of cold dishes on the appetizer menu to choose from - though unfortunately we won't be able to try the chestnut soup with powdered duck which intrigues.  We order the wine - a nice mineral, crisp Albarino - and settle in.  Within a few minutes, we are approached and offered a suddenly-available 4-top at The Fat Duck.  Wow.  With not much hesitation, we turn it down.  Now, in our defence: we had dinner there a little more than 6 weeks earlier, our dining companions had reservations for the Waterside Inn that evening and none of us were in a mood to spend £130 each for lunch (without wine).  We ask, in view of the electrical problems, whether we could order off their menu instead, to be told with a smile that "The Fat Duck doesn't do take-out".  Nice. 

The menu at The Hinds Head is a playful mix of traditional English fare, and some more inventive dishes.  In fact, at times it's downright Harry Potter-ish, with it's Warwickshire Wizzers and Quaking Puddings - more on that soon.  On to the apps: Crab and Prawn Cocktail is a little humdrum, but the prawns are plentiful and the sauce not too sweet, while the Duck and Guinea Fowl Terrine with Spiced Apples is declared as 'wonderful' (so wonderful that no-one else gets a taste!).  Both the house-smoked Salmon and the Potted Shrimps do not disappoint either.  About halfway through these dishes, the lights come on - hooray!  We would have hated to miss the triple cooked chips!  Or those Warwickshire wizzers which turn out to be dates filled with mango sauce and wrapped in crisp pancetta - yum!  A bottle of Vasse Felix Margaret River Cabernet/Merlot is ordered to celebrate - cheers to the electrician!

Showing admirable restraint, one of our party orders the Salad of Goats Cheese with Mulled Fig, Hazelnut, Green Beans and Shallots - she's got a 3* meal to tackle just hours away after all - while the rest of us pile in to a perfectly cooked steak with bone marrow sauce (oh, so rich), a large bowl of Cornish mussels which looked plump and juicy, and an oxtail and kidney pudding respectively.  The pudding was below par - the pastry heavy and uninspiring as well as a distinct lack of kidneys - but the other dishes were delicious,  And those chips were worth every fat-busting calorie with a perfectly crisp crust and meltingly soft potato inside. 

Everyone plumps for dessert - especially when promised that the Quaking Puddings are as light as air.  So, three of those plus one order of Christmas Pudding tart with Brandy Ice Cream (someone's feeling decidedly Christmassy - must have been those wizzers).  The puddings really do quake - shaking like jellies on their wooden boards - as well as being light.  A steamed concoction of milk, eggs and spices, they are like cooked eggnog and just as scrumptious.  The tart dissappears so fast I can only assume it too was a hit.

The Hinds Head is declared a success, with a few minor reservations.  If your food budget doesn't run to The Fat Duck, this is a great way of getting a flavour of its more famous sibling.  The inn itself, a fifteenth century building with low beamed ceilings and crooked angles everywhere, has a quintessential English pub atmosphere.  Blumenthal's humorous touches start above the front door with a sign that reads 'Duck or Grouse' and that feeling of bonhomie lingers throughout the meal.  The famous Chef clearly has his stamp here, while giving Chef Clive Dixon plenty of ownership of his kitchen.  With a menu that rarely strays outside the £20 comfort zone, this 'pub' proves it is no mere orphan sister. 

thehindsheadhotel.com

Le Cercle

Last Saturday, Peter Jones was heaving with early Christmas shoppers, and Sloane Square was criss-crossed by crowds of purpose-driven Londoners. It was time for a late-ish lunch, around 2pm. The Botanist, catty-corner from The Royal Court Theatre, was wall-to-wall with Sloanies, paying too much for weekend brunch. The new Duke of York shopping area, anchored by the Saatchi Gallery, now offers plenty of places to refuel, but we were headed for nearby Wilbraham Place and Le Cercle. A tony outpost of the Club Gascon group, whose restaurants in Smithfield are a mecca for lovers of foie gras, Le Cercle offers one of the best lunch deals around. At just £15 for 3 courses, or £19.50 for 4. Now, admittedly, the plates at Le Cercle are not groaning with food - the concept is more along the lines of small plates - but after 3 or 4 courses, you certainly come away satisfied. You enter the restaurant at street level and descend to the double-height dining room - an almost perfect space, classically speaking - with floor-to-ceiling sheers that create a feeling of intimacy. We were seated at a cozy banquette raised ever so slightly above the main floor, with a full view of the dining room to our right and, on our left the wine cellar. Though strongly tempted by the a la carte dishes we stuck to our guns and chose exclusively from the set menu: The most ethereal Pumpkin soup with a scoop of anise-flavoured cream was so light it was like eating clouds, while baby cheese-filled ravioli floated in a foamy shellfish cream that had flavours lingering long after the last forkful. Then a house-cured salmon with a creamy carrot puree (where the only misstep was the addition of too much whole grain mustard) was overshadowed by the confit of haddock with cauliflower puree and samphire. The haddock was beautifully prepared, and slid submissively off the fork onto the tongue while the puree was silken and subtle. Now completely at the mercy of the chef, we then enjoyed a ballotine of roast chicken, wrapped in pancetta and stuffed with forcemeat, napped with a foamy foie gras sauce and a scattering of impossibly tiny brunoise of vegetables. Yes, I know that's the second time I have said foamy, and it's true the chef likes his foams, but what saves it from pretentiousness is the purity of flavours. A slightly disappointing choucroute - too much sauerkraut and not enough variety of meat - can be forgiven. I couldn't resist the 4th course and plumped for the chocolate fondant with mint ice-cream. This was no ordinary mint ice-cream, this was pure, intense, real, fresh peppermint held hostage in a custard base, and was the perfect foil to the oozy, dense chocolate. Can you believe that the set price includes tea or coffee - even espresso, normally a restaurant's favorite profit area? Fora little more than £50 (a glass of wine pushed us over the edge) we had eaten an incredible meal, and spent the same as we have done in the past for mediocrity. Le Cercle is a winner - especially as the set menu is available on a Saturday.