The Vine House 100 High St, Paulerspury, Northamptonshire NN12 7NA
Contact: 01327 811267 www.vinehousehotel.com
Price: Three courses: £30.95
I haven't eaten anywhere as ugly as The Vine House since the 1980s; even a humble Harvester has more cheer, more corporate know-how. L and I were shown into an ante-room, just off the dining-room. Our voices bounced off the clackety floor tiles and it reeked of disinfectant. We weren't warm enough. It was a bit like eating in a gents. The main dining-room had carpet and looked fractionally more inviting, but was pitch black. It was like going to visit someone's parents, and not being allowed into the proper parlour because you are pregnant or have dirty boots.
Then the menu arrived, and it had just enough about it to lift my spirits. L had beetroot salad with blue cheese, Williams pears and truffle oil. I don't really understand the world view in which it is necessary to specify the pears but not the cheese; no matter. What first stood out were the beetroots, which had distinctive, rooty sweetness. I normally think truffle oil is something they splash on a dish without personality, but here its mushroomy depth was exactly the bridge between the beetroot and the pear.
I had ragout of beef and oxtail, on a creamy mash, mainly because I thought it was a super-weird thing to put on a starter menu. It arrived in a dinky individual casserole, and everything about it was charming – topped with crunchy ciabatta crumbs, the ragout was finely chopped, slow-cooked, silky and rich and thymey. The mash owed its wonder to the French school of thought in which the right amount of fat is the amount the potato can take without drowning.
I agree with this theory. If it sounds a bit unctuous, I guess it could have used a sharp green salad to cut through it all, but then it really would have been a main course in a tiny bowl. In any case, I loved it, but the more I enjoyed it, the more I resented the fact that the smell of Dettol was messing with the outer edges of my sensory perception.
L's cornfed confit of Goosnargh duck sat on top of some mash, with two symmetrical, thick rounds of further potato (a bit 'special interest', the double-starch, but I know plenty of people for whom this is a sign of a fun-loving nature) and had a neat baby turnip angled rakishly across. Again, the onlooker will wonder if it was a bit fatty, and I can cheerfully report that it was not – the duck had crisped, salty skin and a stunning, young, tender flavour.
My favourite dish by far, though, was my venison (supplement £3.95), with a capery salsa verde and a minty, sweet, fresh bed of mushy peas. The meat was ruby-pink, with a gorgeously smooth and yielding texture. I wonder if I'll ever eat venison again without at least considering the addition of a caper.
The dark-chocolate terrine with hazelnuts, smoky bacon and sherry-vinegar caramel was an eye-opener – often, when there's a rogue ingredient like, erm, bacon in a pudding, it's in such a small amount that its manifest purpose is to make it sound interesting. Not here – you could really taste the bacon, and I'm amazed to say that it worked, serving that same purpose against chocolate as salted caramel, defamiliarising it so that you tasted it afresh. It is a rum old dish when you can say that the vinegar caramel was the least surprising thing about it. My pannacotta with rhubarb and brown breadcrumbs was over-set. The fruit was very tasty and chic, but the pudding offered an eerie amount of resistance, so that it was close towards the thickness of membrillo.
I still wouldn't recommend this place, the interior of which is so close to an insult, but the compensations, if you do find yourself accidentally eating there, are many.
VINE CLASS...
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Drinkers at this traditional pub are often surprised to discover the smart restaurant and deli beyond the pumps. Cockles with laver bread and leeks is its signature starter (£6.50); follow it with ale-braised rabbit and local black pudding (£16)
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At Daniel Galmiche's award-winning restaurant, each dish is matched with a bottle from the 30,000-strong wine cellar. Think scallops and Iberico ham (£16) with a crisp Californian sauvignon blanc, or chocolatey braised venison (£26) with an unusual, smoky red from Uruguay.
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