Restaurant 56 @ Sudbury House Hotel, Faringdon

I am delighted today to be the first reviewer to reveal the many excellencies of the new Restaurant 56 at Faringdon’s Sudbury House Hotel. Others are unlikely to be slow in following me. Chef Andrew Scott won his first Michelin star this year for his work at The Curlew Restaurant in East Sussex. It will surely not be long before he gains another here.

But the story of Restaurant 56 is not simply one of food, important though this is. It is a tale, too, of the rescue of a fine listed building from chain hotel use and its transformation, through sensitive redecoration and the addition of antiques and well-chosen artworks, into an establishment in the best traditions of tasteful luxury.

Its owner, West Midlands businessman Roger Hancox, has a track record in this area. Two years ago he took over Llangoed Hall, in Brecon, a hotel fashioned from the former home of fabrics legend Laura Ashley. Within months it had gained the accolade of AA Hotel of 2013/14 for Wales. On its walls today (besides pictures by James McNeill Whistler and Augustus John) is a letter from the Prince of Wales, offering his congratulations on the welcome preservation of the place.

Sudbury House, otherwise 56 London Street (source of the restaurant name), is not quite such an important building. It does, however, possess an interesting pedigree, having been home in the past to some distinguished figures, including Sir William Glock, the BBC’s Controller of Music and a keen developer of The Proms, who lived there in the 1960s.

A trade directory of 1854 identified it as a “Seminary for Young Ladies”. Not long before it had been a boys’ boarding school, run by one Dr Boles, where pupils included John Thadeus Delane, the editor of The Times from 1841-77.

Transformation of the Grade II* listed building — chiefly used for weddings when the hotel was run by Best Western — is only the first stage of developments at the Sudbury House Hotel. Soon a second restaurant will open in the main building behind, which houses the 49 guest bedrooms.

I might have considered staying in one of these for our review visit, so that wine could be sampled too. Even better, though, was to travel on the excellent 66 bus service, with a two-and-a-half-hour ‘window’ for our meal between arrival and the last bus home. This proved adequate — but only just.

A la carte dining becomes a lengthy affair at Restaurant 56 in consequence of the many hidden extras that appear from Andrew’s kitchen. These serve — and it’s important to state this — to make a meal here seem much better value than a first glance at the menu might suggest, with starters at £12 and more and main courses ranging upwards from £25.50.

Our ‘freebies’ began as we looked at some of the large landscape paintings in the lounge over aperitif gin and tonics, with canapés of truffle goat’s cheese cones, curried popcorn (delicious!) and anchovy pastry parcels with cider vinegar foam — the last a little too, well, vinegary, for me.

Moving into the well-appointed dining room, we first received the unexpected gift of bowls of truffle and thyme fregola (couscous like pasta from Sardinia) with parmesan. This was a little too generous in quantity, considering what was to come (and the superb home-baked bread we were already eating with gusto).

Rosemarie pushed away half of hers to leave room for her forest mushroom consommé and individual raviolo with chestnut and morel filling. I ate all mine and still had no trouble with my starter, which might surprise readers when they note the size of it in the picture above.

This was a beautifully presented dish of dressed crab (the dark body meat turned into a mousse), with compressed apples, pickled radish and caraway biscuits. White currants added a sweetness with which I was not wholly happy.

My main course dish, which you can also see pictured, was no less elegantly presented. At its centre was a pan-fried fillet of halibut, cooked to perfection and topped with vermouth sauce, surrounded by pieces of roasted scallop, nicely tacky lemon and chervil gnocchi and so-called ‘sea vegetables’, mainly samphire. The combination of flavours was perfect.

Rosemarie said the same of her main course dish which paired pink chunks of roasted pork fillet with an oblong of crispy belly. Accompanying these were three ways with cauliflower (couscous, puréed and roasted), prune purée and sherry and crème fraiche sauce.

There followed for us both what was described as a “pre-dessert”of plum compote, verjus sorbet and gingerbread foam. That dealt with my sweet tooth, but Rosemarie felt obliged, for research purposes, to order a rice pudding soufflé, having never had such a thing before. She thought it wonderful, including the hot blackberry sauce and vanilla and mascarpone ice cream. I had three of the British Isles cheeses: cider-washed Celtic Gold, Harrogate Blue, and Perl Wen, a Welsh variation on brie.

We drank a viognier (Mont Rocher, Pays d’Oc, 2012), which went rather well with most things. Perhaps this was because of its palate, which was amusingly described on the bottle as “rich, almost unctuous”. I know people like that.

Restaurant 56
Sudbury House Hotel,
56 London Street, Faringdon, SN7 7AA
01367 241272
sudburyhouse.co.uk

Opening times: Tuesday to Saturday. Lunch, noon-2pm, dinner, 6.30pm-late.
Parking: Plenty of space on site. But why not try the speedy 66 bus service from Oxford?
Key personnel: General manager Ulrike Le Roux; executive head chef Andrew Scott; sous chef Nick Bennet; assistant manager Tina Brown.
Make sure you try the... Forest mushroom consommé with chestnut and morel raviolo (£12), dressed Coronation crab (£15), pan-fried fillet of halibut and roasted scallop (£30); roasted fillet and crispy belly of pork, cauliflower textures and prune purée (£26); loin of venison, bolognaise of its own meat, cocoa nib granola and port wine sauce (£28.50); rice pudding soufflé (£11); selection of cheeses from the British Isles (£9 for three cheeses; £12 for five). There is also a £75 per person tasting menu, with a measure of wine with each of the six courses.
In ten words: New luxury restaurant offers superb dishes in truly tasteful setting