The Hind’s Head has a brand new interior and a stunning new menu to go with it. William Gadsby Peet tucks in
When you think about it, the community of Bray is really rather odd. On the surface, it looks like any other picturesque commuter village outside of London: plenty of old thatched cottages renovated to modern standards, narrow roads, hedgerows, a village green, tiny post office and, inevitably, dozens of massive black Range Rovers. Why would I drive a car when I can drive a tank, darling?
And yet, of course, it isn’t like other British villages at all. Indeed, Bray isn’t really like any other place on Earth. For here, within about 300 metres of each other, shine seven of the UK’s Michelin stars, surely making this leafy adjunct of Maidenhead the most densely Michelin-starred place on the planet.
Having long been eager to taste the fruits of this culinary garden, I confess to having jumped like a caffeinated frog at the opportunity to review The Hind’s Head, Heston Blumenthal’s newly refurbished gastropub.
Walking through the door of this 15th century establishment – Michelin-starred since 2013 – I was welcomed by a friendly member of staff and ushered upstairs to join a gaggle of other local lifestyle journalists, all discussing the renovation over a dangerously drinkable house cocktail called a Gold Rush.
The general consensus was that the new interior forms a perfect metaphor for the food there served, and for Blumenthal’s work as a chef in general: a historic and prestigious British foundation embellished with oodles of unique twists.
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The Vicar's Room
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The Royal Lounge upstairs at the Hind's Head
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The Royal Lounge upstairs at the Hind's Head
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The Royal Lounge upstairs at the Hind's Head
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Downstairs at the Hind's Head
Ancient looking beams and woodwork feature heavily both upstairs and downstairs, with low lighting, open fireplaces, oak panelling, timber flooring and exposed brickwork all combining to create a cosy and cheerful ambience, enhanced by a genuine gravitas true to the building’s hunting lodge roots.
Added to the mix are some fascinating Hestonisms: a silver leaf mirror inscribed with the recipe for quaking pudding; chandeliers made out of English blunderbusses with a light-bulb popping out of each muzzle; lamps fashioned from old meat mincers; a giant cockentrice trophy and more.
However, the pièce de résistance of the refurbishment has to be the new private dining room (pictured above), themed around the original Tudor model for the infamous Vicar of Bray. Striking blood-red walls feature portraits of both Mary Tudor and Elizabeth I, whilst a bespoke five-metre long banqueting table hewn from a single piece of oak acts as the focal point. It all conspires to create a room that feels as if it has been used to plot the overthrow of a pope, or at least the assassination of Dumbledore.
Having acquainted us with all the building’s splendid quirk and whimsy, restaurant manager Nick Broderick – who had the wonderful combination of charm, politeness and interesting trivia only generally seen in veteran members of the hospitality industry, game show hosts or Hollywood serial killers – sat us down for dinner.
Our first starter was a pea and ham soup with one of Heston’s famous Scotch eggs. The soup was superb – the colour of Rushdie’s ‘grasshopper-green’ chutney in Midnight’s Children – and velvety smooth on the way down. As for the accompaniment, it more than lived up to its reputation – though I am, in any case, a sucker for anything Scotch, including (but not limited to) Scotch Mars Bars, Scotch pizza and, er, Scotch.
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Pea and ham soup with a Scotch egg
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Scallop Waldorf
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Beetroot and spelt risotto
A beautifully light scallop Waldorf followed, the fish cooked perfectly – juicy, flavoursome and accompanied by fresh seasonal veg and walnuts to conjure a tantalising taste of summer.
The final starter was a beetroot and spelt risotto that looked incredible but tasted ghastly. I should probably mention here that I have an ongoing, conceptually based vendetta against beetroot in general. Thus, if you are the sort of person who enjoys the taste of earth coloured in a shade of purple slightly to the right of asphyxiated Smurf, you probably would have found the dish delightful.
And so to the main course: a Hereford ribeye with sauce Reform and triple cooked chips that was definitely the highlight of the meal. It bore wonderful testament to the fact that, even at a Heston restaurant – with all the great man’s wonderful innovations and trickery – you just can’t beat a perfectly cooked chunk of meat with some proper, crispy chips.
Dessert featured a trio of doughnuts, two of which were spot on, though I found the third, ‘tropical’ one a bit – for want of a better word – funky. And then came the final treat, a hot chocolate sipping wine with millionaire’s shortbread, the memory of which will keep me warm through many a cold winter night. A chocolaty hug wrapped inside a lover’s kiss, with sprinklings of the first time you heard the Beatles.
I left The Hind’s Head fully stuffed, a little tipsy and thoroughly pleased with my first excursion to Bray. Whatsoever king may reign, I’ll be back.
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