I don’t know about you, but when the mercury falls and the air cools, I seek solace in comfort food; a hearty soup, a stew, a familiar pud.
And so it was to the warming and the comforting that I gravitated while perusing the Fox menu. I found plenty to tempt; to start maybe a little baked Camembert? Some potato and vegetable soup? Or a little jugged hare? Ah, yes please.
It came in a little jug, with hunks of fresh bread and it was simply wonderful. Deep, rich, with enough of a gamey tang to give it authenticity and gravitas; I wish it was a main course because I could have eaten it all night.
But it wasn’t, so I looked for the next best thing; slow-cooked beef cheek with a horseradish mash. Admittedly it wasn’t a million miles from the hare in principle, being a casserole, but like I say, in winter I seek comfort and I apologise to no-one.
It was a bowl of joyful warmth, a trencherman’s delight with slice upon slice of soft cheek atop a mash in which you could really taste the horseradish. The beef was cooked to absolute perfection in a sauce – a gravy, really – which was rich with wine. The roasted carrots were on point; all I would add would be a spoonful of green veg, perhaps a bit of hispi cabbage, to achieve perfection.
Across the table Mrs C went all light and summery; her roasted fig starter with pickled pears and a stilton dressing looked beautiful and lived up to expectations, she reported. The pickles were a nice counterpoint to the sweet figs.
As a non-meat eater, she chose firecracker salmon (while saying that, had she still been carnivorous, she’d have had the beef in a heartbeat) which came with red chillies and siracha, and Asian slaw and sticky jasmine rice. The heat was perfect for a chill evening, the salmon was cooked just so, although the sauce slightly dampened the lovely crisp skin.
After two outstanding rounds dessert was fine, but not quite up there with the savoury courses. My caramel apple pie, soused in custard from a fat-bellied jug, was nice enough, while Mrs C’s mint cheesecake came up short on mint flavour.
In all, we got what we went for; warmth and comfort on a cold winter’s night. And, apparently, they’re getting a new log-burner in shortly...
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Our review visits are unannounced and we pay for our meals.
