I really need start eating outside of London more. All these new restaurant openings across the capital at the moment are becoming rather repetitive and for a while now I’ve been struggling to get really excited. But ravel just a couple of hours outside of London and your faced with a wealth of high-end gastropubs, casual fine dining and most importantly – a real passion for local produce and good food. Some of the restaurants grown their own veg, others have their own farms and most are operated by husband and wife duos. Unlike some restaurants in London at the moment which open solely to jump on the foodie wagon and make lots of money, places such as The Blacksmiths all started with a passion. Good or not, that’s irrelevant because at least it still has heart at the very centre of it.
The Blacksmiths in Clayworth is no exception either. Owned and run by couple Will and Leah who took over this what was run down pub back in 2011 and turned it into a cosy, slightly industrial looking local pub serving modern, creative food. Will also has 17 years experience behind him in the hospitality industry and at one point was working for Sir Richard Branson’s Lodge. As for the food here it’s good. It wasn’t show-stopping and had quite a few technical errors but there is huge potential for this place. We started with a few slices of bread and selection of pesto & butter – both of which were excellent. While I get the bread was merely for dipping, a little more wouldn’t have gone a miss and neither would some fluffy rounds of a thick alternative. I’ve a big thing for bread, it’s the first thing that hits the table and first impressions count most so for me, it needs to be spectacular. Starter were crispy chicken wings with a sweet corn veloute, potato dumpling and basil powder. An absolute stunner of a dish but supremely tiny – the wings were minuscule and the whole dish was inhaled in about 30 seconds. This was an amuse size, not a starter. A real shame because the flavour and cooking was all here.
Easily the best dish here at The Blacksmiths was this beautiful plated roast lamb rump with confit shoulder, pressing of potato, rainbow chard, salsify, wild mushrooms and a sweet caramelised shallot purée. My shoddy camera didn’t do the best at making this dish look great but I can assure you its cooking, shiny glaze and vibrant colours really were a dream to look at. The meat was perfectly cooked, a precise medium-rare and that confit lamb shoulder was falling apart to the touch with a deep meaty flavour that sat together beautifully with the shallot puree. I could eat this dish again in a heartbeat and while the menus change seasonally here, this is one dish that must be on your list – it’s a truly spectacular plate of food.
Other dishes were less successful, but by no means bad. While they had lots of flavour, cooking was a little sloppy. Lapsang souchong smoked grouse with confit leg, butter bean purée, heritage carrots, fig and violet potato. Again it was great to look at visually and it certainly had flavour but I struggled to get much of that lapsang souchong tea coming through and the grouse was unfortunately very overcooked. The slow braised beef cheek with bourguignon garnish, horseradish mashed potato, baby leeks and carrots was the most disappointing thing we ate here. It had so much promise but with a dish like this the meat has to be falling apart at the touch and importantly, very moist. Tender it was, but moist it wasn’t – it was only the jus that helped it from cloying in the mouth.
I’m not sure who they’ve got hiding away in the kitchen here but the pastry chef is full of talent. Desserts were all absolutely fantastic, full of flavour, intrigue and with so much precision. My apple mille feuille was probably one of the best things I’ve eaten all year. The pastry was so incredibly light, but rich, flaky and oh so buttery. All the different elements of apple were a dream and that sorbet was the stuff of legends. Equally just as good was this tonka bean panna cotta with blackcurrant sorbet, liquorice gel and mini liquorice meringues – it was faultless.
The Blacksmiths in Clayworth was for me a little bit too inconsistent for me. The food isn’t without flavour here and inside it’s looking fab, but there were a few too many errors and the attention to detail needed much more, attention. I imagine you if you pick carefully, you can eat very well here but unfortunately we mostly picked half wrong. If you’re visiting The Blacksmiths then skip your starter (or get two), go for the lamb and most importantly – don’t miss out on dessert because they are truly some of the best you’ll eat. I’ve not written The Blacksmiths off yet and neither should you. It’s a great little pub with lots of potential.
6.5/10
