Review: The Walnut Tree, Abergavenny

I can’t resist examples of the insanity of TripAdvisor. Shaun Hill’s Walnut Tree rocks in at a mighty number 7, while Stephen Terry’s Hardwick squeaks in at number 10. Gosh, Abergavenny must be a veritable culinary mecca if these top-drawer chefs are that far down the list. Well, if the food I enjoyed last night at The Walnut Tree is anything to go by I shall be in heaven when I finally get to eat at “Pizzorante” – Abergavenny’s number 1 dining establishment*.

Back to The Walnut Tree. It’s a dining room, not a pub, and has a pleasantly informal air of white-washed rusticity. Their website sums up a lot with this comment: “No dress code or similar pomposity. Journalists have given independent comment. This site will not offend visitors with smarmy overstatements of what’s on offer.” So it’s a take-me-as-you-find-me kind of place, and the various negative comments on TripAdvisor do seem to suggest that if you don’t like what you find you’ll get short shrift. I must admit that the formidable matron of the dining room had an air of disquiet about her that suggested she might get quite tart with anyone having an issue with their dish. Luckily everything was delicious.

My starter was a single large, perfect calf’s sweetbread. The strongly seared surfaces gave a beautiful meaty flavour to the normally subtle sweetbread, the remoulade and gravy mopped up very well. It was one of those dishes that ate far better than it looked. Maureen’s kerala fish curry was an insanely good, deep, spicy concoction. Just the fish in a curry gravy, it made a mouthwatering starter with a veritable minefield of whole spices to enjoy.

For main I had suckling pig, with approximately hispanic accompaniments. There was a good slab of soft morcilla, a little heap of chorizo and pan-fried veg that I failed to identify, and a little empanada. This last was stuffed with pig, but it was the strong nutty flavour of the crispy brown pastry itself that I loved. The pork itself was excellent, moist and piggy. Maureen’s rabbit platter included saddle, liver, kidneys and a pudding. I’m not sure how this pudding is made, but it was a light, wobbly, savoury wonder. The offal was also great, the saddle itself moist but lacking flavour. Special mention to the potato cubes, splendid.

I polished off a very boozily satisfying Muscat creme caramel with prunes, while Maureen’s rhubarb and cardamom fool was light and tasty. I’ve made an internal memo to try combining rhubarb with cardamom soon, as they matched up very well.

I like Shaun Hill’s cooking here. Despite the Michelin star, presentation is definitely pubby; here’s some things on a plate – enjoy. But all the dishes were enjoyable, combining interesting elements and flavours masterfully cooked. At about £42 for three courses without drinks I think the price matches the quality of the menu spot-on.

* – which I’m sure is very nice, for the record I know nothing about the place