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36
Crowning
glory
I
am a self-declared
Bloody Mary expert.
I took the mission
on many years ago
(you’re welcome) and
can’t tell you the effort
I have put in to rate the
drink across the world.
Airports are a spe-
ciality, it’s become a
pre-flight and layover
habit and they are
normally bland; in the
US, they’re usually too
fishy and strong for
me as they often use
clam juice: meanwhile
Harry’s Bar in Venice is pretty good.
But I never thought that one of the best I have
ever tasted would be in a pretty country pub in
the Hampshire countryside.
Laced with chunky grated horseradish, with
just the right amount of spiciness, celery and
lime, The Crown Inn at Upton deserves a
Bloody prize.
Actually, the minute you walk into this beautiful
inn you kind of guess everything is going to be
good.
The newly refurbished pub under chef Lewis
Spreadbury and general manager Amanda
J’Bair, a duo who used to run The Bunk Inn, is
tasteful yet reflects the farming community and
stunning countryside it sits in.
From the cosy fireside space to the cool grey
dining areas and the conservatory where the
light floods in, it’s a place you could while away
many an hour.
The bar menu is classic fare but with the
Crown twist – pork belly with mustard, a
smokey BLT, fish and chips, sausage and
mash to name a few.
We sampled
the pork
belly and
discovered
the twist –
thick and
crunchy-
topped
melting belly
cubes served
with charred
lemon, a
hearty
mustard
mayo and smoked salt. It was superb, and even
my dining companion who normally eschews
animal fat raced me to the wooden board to
finish it off, scrabbling to pick up the last cube.
To the rest of the food – I usually hate when
reviews walk you through the meal in order,
but sometimes, like a good tale that builds
to a climax, you need to do it so potential
customers get an idea of the beautifully
balanced and clever menu.
So, starters were the smoked trout with a trout
mousse, caper and potato salad, quails’ eggs
and crispy skin, and a dish of crab cake with a
crab bisque and squid ink aioli.
The trout was vivid pink and soft, the mousse
a smooth and unctuous quenelle and the two
little towers of salad spicy with the capers and
soft potato. Nestled between were the perfectly
cooked eggs and ever-so-crunchy trout skin
the size of, well, crisps. It was fresh, zingy and
delicious.
The crispy-
coated and
loaded crab
cake topped by
a thick egg yolk
was packed full
of fish and sat
in a top-notch
bisque with a
slick of almost
silver aioli
and it was all
seen through a
harlequin fried potato garnish. It was rich and
showcased the crab.
For mains, we went for venison and sea bream.
Now suet puddings can be thick and spongy
but this venison suet pudding served with the
smoothest potato puree, sprouts and stuffed
cabbage was soaked in an amazing gravy
and crunchy on the outside, the result of
steaming then ladling with gravy and roasting
in the oven.
The venison inside was buttery yet spicy and
tender, the little stuffed cabbage ball revealing
a spicy sausagemeat stuffing.
Meanwhile two fillets of sea bream – the
portions at The Crown are generous – sat in
The Crown Inn at
Upton is full of
superb surprises
says Hilary Scott
Pork belly with mustard