28 / 60
O
n the coldest night of the year so far,
crunching across freezing car park
gravel, the warm glow of The Halfway
inn was most inviting.
Stepping inside, the welcome was equally
warm, with a blazing log fire, flickering candles,
sheepskin-strewn armchairs and chef James
Callery there to greet us.
And so it must have been centuries ago for
the weary travellers who stopped off at the
18th-century oak-beamed coaching inn on the
A4 Bath Road, half-way between London and
Bristol.
However, James and his Polish wife Magda
have now created a more contemporary, cosy
ambience, with a quirky collection of designer
knick-knacks and more than a nod to the past
in the upholstered period chairs set around
polished wood tables.
The restaurant is at the same time spacious
and, because of the individual table settings,
intimate. The theatrical décor is down to
Magda; “she’s the interior designer,” says
James.
We settled on a window seat in the bar with
a glass of sauvignon blanc from the pub’s
collection of South African Rickety Bridge
wines to peruse the menu.
A row of cookery books were propped along
the sill – just a selection from 460 in the pub
– and in the background, pianist Roger tickled
the ivories of the baby grand.
A convivial host, 36-year-old James is Inkpen
born and bred. The self-taught chef has been
in the business since he was 16, but was first
bitten by the cooking bug when, as part of
his front-of-house training, he had to spend a
month in the kitchens, and since moving to
The Halfway eight years ago, he’s never
looked back.
He has just returned to the helm after a two-
year sabbatical on another project, with his son
Kris starting front-of-house last year. The oldest
of the rest of his young team of six is just 23.
The Halfway offers hearty English food with
a twist and takes pride in creating dishes
from scratch, from the Polish sausages made
to a recipe of James’ father-in-law – ‘Eddy’s
bangers’ – or the salmon and ribs they smoke
themselves, to their home-made pastry, James
says: “If there’s a long way of doing things, I
will do it.”
We just missed out on a starter of thyme
pan-seared mackerel with warms beets, pearl
onions and spinach purée to a large party in
the restaurant – obviously a popular dish – but
we weren’t disappointed by our wild mushroom
risotto balls with a rich blue cheese sauce or
the ham hock croquettes with a parsley and
mustard dip, both satisfying appetisers for the
mains to come.
You can’t say I wasn’t warned, as earlier chef
had told us The Halfway does “big stuff or small
stuff”, “hearty or delicate”.
Under the ‘big stuff’ comes their special
slow-cooked lamb in winter or rack of ribs in
summer, plus their famous Halfway burger.
Wavering between the hearty seared venison
with roasted sprouts, butternut squash, onions
and spinach purée, versus the lamb, I went
with the recommendation of the latter.
‘Big’ was an understatement and we did a
double-take at the magnificent half-shoulder
that arrived in a fragrant waft of rosemary.
It was fit for a feast, glazed in a rich jus and
proving as succulent as it looked, the meat
just falling from the bone. So it took a while
to discover the helping of delicious gratin
potatoes under the accompanying sweet
potato chips.
28
Big food from a pub
with a big heart
The Halfway Inn offers a welcome respite from the
winter chill and a feast of warming food. Trish Lee
ventured in from the cold to savour the atmosphere
and fine food offered by James and Magda Callery.
Wild mushroom risotto balls
with a blue cheese sauce
Pan-roasted salmon in
mussel and lentil marinara
Slow-cooked lamb
Lemon posset
and custard tart