News and Features
Ring the changes in Wells
The City of Wells is beginning to acquire a reputation as a centre of food excellence, indeed I recently heard it referred to as the ‘Ludlow of Somerset’. We seem to get at least one email a week telling us about a new chef, a new menu or new owners, here are those you shouldn’t miss, whether you are entertaining visitors or just enjoying the Summer.
The Bishop’s Palace The Summer a la carte evenings at The Bishop’s Palace are a unique opportunity to relax and enjoy fine dining in this splendid medieval palace. The restaurant is located in the Undercroft, which was built in 1206, when King John granted Bishop Jocelin land for a residence and deer park. The menus have an emphasis on indulgence, and will feature traditional favourites such as Lamb shank braised with garlic and rosemary and oven roasted whole Dover sole, cooked by chef Steve Childs and his team. Many of the choices on offer make the most of the season’s best produce; Vandyke of melon filled with raspberry sorbet and laced with strawberry couli is just one example.. The evenings take place on Saturdays 9th August and 20th September, but if you can’t make these, don’t despair, the Bishop’s Palace and Gardens are open every day until Christmas, with the licensed restaurant and garden terrace open for morning coffee, lunch and afternoon tea, serving tempting seasonal dishes including baked salmon and pesto, locally sourced Cheddar ploughmans, and Mendip Hill steak and vegetable pie. You may even be lucky enough to see the mute swans on the moat ring the bell for food - pictured above.
The Sherston Inn Huw Davies took over the Sherston earlier this year, and managed to completely refurbish it in the 2 weeks between him taking over the business and opening the doors to the customers! His colleague Sarah-Jane says, “It was lots of hard work and long hours, we basically gutted it and started again, but it was well worth it and the results speak for themselves.” “We are offering the same menu at the Sherston that we have at the Riverside including the exceptional children's menu that has received so much positive feedback in Cheddar.” The menu has something for everyone, from salad bowls to sharing plates, grills, and a wide selection of meat, fish and vegetarian main courses. Make sure you leave room for a dessert, they are all made exclusively for Huw by Country Catering, run by Jackie Wallis from Axbridge. Jackie has been involved in catering locally for 11 years and her philosophy is simple: ‘the freshest locally sourced ingredients giving the best flavours’
The City Arms At first glance the changes at The City Arms are not obvious, but look more closely and you’ll see the feminine touches added by Landlady Penny Lee, bright new cushions on the comfy leather sofas, lighter, fresher paints that open up the interior. “We are a traditional British pub” says Penny, “no gaming machines or wide screen TVs. We pride ourselves in keeping 7 real ales, including a guest of the week, 5 draught lagers and 3 ciders.” The menus reflect Penny’s down to earth attitude. “We serve fresh local produce, at reasonable prices and in ample portions”, she says. New head chef Adam Kennington has put together an interesting menu with a selection of his speciality Mediterranean choices alongside traditional British dishes, such as pork chop with honey, thyme and mustard.. If you’re feeling the pinch in the current economic climate you can’t go wrong with the ‘fill your face for a fiver’ menu, available Mon–Fri lunchtimes, it features local bangers & mash, traditional cottage pie and fish pie topped with mature cheddar.
The Pheasant This little pub/Italian restaurant may be better known amongst Londoners than it is in Somerset! It’s been praised in both The Evening Standard and The Guardian and foodies come from far and wide to enjoy Roberto and Luana’s authentic Tuscan cooking. The choice of 9 pasta dishes calls for another glass of Rioja before deciding between the ricotta and spinach ravioli, the penne with vine, tomatoes, olives et al and the spaghetti with baby clams, all the more remarkable when Roberto tells us it’s freshly made every day. Main courses include unmistakably Italian dishes with ingredients like parma ham sourced from Italy, but you will also ‘Butcombe beer battered cod’ and a note about traditional roasts being served on Sundays, reflecting the fact that before Roberto and Luana arrived this was a typical Somerset pub. Unusually for such a good restaurant, it still has a traditional bar with horse brasses and real ales, well used by a loyal band of locals who could easily have been displaced, but for the couple’s efforts to integrate into the community and retain the ‘pub’ alongside the restaurant.
The Kings Head It’s probably old news that the 14th century Kings Head has a new Landlord and Landlady, Steve and Nikki, 2 new chefs and a whole new menu; but we can now report that all of the interior changes have been completed and that the sunny courtyard garden has just been finished, there’s room for 32 people to eat and drink out there. The Summer menu features lots of lighter bites and a wide selection of sandwiches and ciabbattas, with a pledge to custom make whatever you fancy as long as they have the ingredients. Main courses are mainly great pub choices that may well have been served in bygone eras throughout the inn's history, such as faggots & mash, steak & ale pie and lamb & apricot casserole and modern pub classics such as lasagne and ¼ pound burgers. For evening entertainment check out the comedy nights, swinging 60’s night or beach party, all sure to pull in a fun crowd!
See Wells Cathedral School sixthformers recommendations
Interesting facts . . . Bells in Wells A webcam has been set up to enable people to watch the pair of mute swans at The Bishop's Palace. Nine signets were hatched at the beginning of June. You may be lucky enough to see them ring the bell to be fed. Wells cathedral has the heaviest ring of 10 bells in the world, hung in the south west tower
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