Out & About Magazine Autumn 2020

The Royal Oak, Yattendon HILARY SCOTT falls in love with eating out again after lockdown RESTAURANT REVIEW

S etting up the first food review since lockdown almost made me giddy I was so happy. But as the date approached, apprehension set in. After so long, would it be good, would I feel safe and would it be an enjoyable evening? Well yes, yes and yes… and it turned out to be one of the nicest food reviews I’ve done for Out & About . Let’s tackle the safe space question first. Everything that could be done had been done. Tables well-spaced out, a one-way system marked on the floor, a laminated message on every table explaining measures. As landlord Rob McGill said: “Covid and the challenges facing the restaurant industry were brilliantly summed up by Yotam Ottolenghi, so I placed his quote on the tables -“Make hospitality what hospitality is supposed to be about. And that is creating a welcoming environment”. “Whilst it is clearly very challenging times for everyone, we are trying our very best to operate in as safe an environment as possible, whilst still maintaining the values above – warmth of welcome, the homeliest of surroundings, friendliest service…and just trying to ensure that your experience is as enjoyable as it can be.” I can vouch it was – the staff were superb and so was the fare. The menu is succinct but with plenty of varied choices. My starter was a special at £8 – Avocado and Tuna tartare with a ponzu and truffle dressing. Well who knew that lemony ponzu was so good with truffle? I doubt I will be able to recreate it at home, but I will give it a try. It puddled around the cube of butter soft avocado and equally soft and fresh cubes of raw tuna all topped with crispy rice noodles. It was a hefty portion, indeed, but I could have greedily eaten more. Photographer Dijana went for another special at a similar price – the soft-shell crab with chilli and a hot green chilli sauce. The crispy crab again was so fresh and the chopped chilli on top gave a hint of heat. But the hot sauce, on the side luckily, did nearly render her speechless – no easy feat that! My main was a Lamb and Apricot Tagine, Za’tar and pistachio yogurt, lemon and coriander couscous at £18. The shoulder cut used, according to head chef Nicholas McGregor, is butterfly grilled then slow roasted for 12 hours.

It showed – it just melted into the slick of herby, nutty yogurt and the lemony couscous studded with pomegranate seeds. Occasionally I would get a surprise lump of soft garlic or an olive and the apricots were also melting, but still had a little bite to them. Dijana had a fish pie at £19. A crispy topped pie with salmon, prawns and cod in a creamy sauce served with a large side of green beans. The fish was generous, almost popping out of the sauce like it had been properly crammed in, with fat prawns and big pieces of cod and salmon. We took a break before dessert and watched out of the window as the rain cleared and several exotic guests parked up outside the pub – a Biggles duo in a vintage car and another pair on a steam tractor. Entertainment for a food reviewer missing diverse company! We also made our way to the pass to watch the popular pizzas being made by Vlad Octavian, the pizza chef. These are done in a proper pizza oven and toppings include N’duja, sweet onion and rocket and wild mushroom, Grana Padano and truffle oil. All four varieties are around the £12-£14 mark and available for takeaway. For dessert, Dijana had an Eton Mess, £7.50, but with vanilla roasted strawberries in a knickerbocker glass and I had a chocolate brownie sundae, £9, with raspberry ripple ice cream, strawberries and chocolate sauce, also in a similar glass. A touch of Sumac in the Eton Mess made this a stand-out and my sundae felt a decadent treat. We had a lovely Lanya Sauvignon Blanc from Chile with the meal which was a good all-rounder, even with the exotic flavour touches, recommended by server Kellan – one of the many staff who expressed relief and pleasure at being back at work. Meanwhile Rob says: “I have been here 11 years and seen it grow from an almost empty pub when I took over to the very special place it is today. “I feel lucky to be here, honoured to be its guardian and love it as much as I hope everyone does.” Well we loved it and it wasn’t just that absence from eating out had made the heart grow fonder. The Royal Oak is a superb country pub that we hope will thrive through the pandemic and further into the future. It deserves to.

The Royal Oak, The Square, Yattendon RG18 0UG; 01635 201325 ; www.royaloakyattendon.co.uk

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