Food review May.qxp_Layout 1 20/04/2016 14:17 Page 1
RESTAURANT | REVIEW
THE KING WILLIAM 36 Thomas Street, Bath BA1 5NN. Tel: 01225 428096
R E V I EW
NICE WORK, CHAPS
52 TheBATHMagazine
| MaY 2016
jazz, which sounds improvised but is steeped in musicianship. I like that this is still very much a pub. You can go into the bar downstairs, step over the odd snoozing dog (the pub is a favourite with local dog walkers) and enjoy a pint of real ale or local cider. You might stay for a bar meal of fish and chips or a burger, all nicely presented in best of modern British hearty style.
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But these four small triangles, coated in golden breadcrumbs . . . converted me in a mouthful
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f we are going to eat meat the least we can do is to try and use all of the animal. It’s economic, sustainable and respectful to the beast too. But you do wonder how, in days of yore, someone looking at a pig’s head on the chopping board considered that its cheeks might make a much sought after delicacy. I have to confess I’d never tried the local dish of Bath Chaps – pork cheeks cured and cooked to a specific historic recipe – until the other evening at the King William. I guess I had always been a little squeamish and thought their appearance might put me off. But these four small triangles, coated in golden breadcrumbs and mouthwateringly deliciously tender and savoury, converted me in a mouthful. I enjoyed my chaps with the first of the English asparagus crop, a dusting of parmesan and a dash of zingy lemon emulsion – but the King William also serves them with apple sauce as a bar snack. Try ‘em, I think you’ll like them. The same goes for the whole King William experience. Thousands of us, on our daily commute, pass the pretty blue facade of this historic hostelry on the corner of London Road and Thomas Street, and if you haven’t been in recently, do take the time. If it’s good enough for food critic Giles Coren to have written that dining here was worth leaving London for, and has won numerous national accolades, it’s got to be a culinary go-to for the curious local too. Charlie and Amanda Digney bought the King William over a decade ago and for the last 11 years have continued to serve their own brand of sustainable, seasonal and, largely, locally sourced food. Their approach is relaxed yet stylish, managing that fine line between making it things look effortless when actually great care and skill has been involved. Rather like the best
Or you might fancy a date night dinner à deux, in which case, book yourself a table in the candlelit first floor dining room. This is a charming Georgian room recently painted in rich dark green and hung with local artists’ views of Bath. If one of your party is, like a Dalek, not happy with stairs, particularly steep ones, you can opt to enjoy the ever-changing dinner menu downstairs in the bar. But we were more than happy with our table in the window overlooking London Road as chef Joel Lear delighted us with a faultless evening of good food. Joel has been at the King William a while and his food is worth seeking out. He keeps his menu short and sweet – with a choice of five starters and five mains, ranging in price from £6 for soup of the day, to £19 for lamb rump with crispy black pudding and Bombay potatoes. Hand on heart, there wasn’t a dish on the menu
that I wouldn’t have wanted to try. Vegetarians are catered for and we know that the kitchen takes food intolerances seriously as we eavesdropped a booking conversation. Almost everything diners enjoy at the King William is made on the premises. The bread is by Bertinet bakery but the produce from Eades, Larkhall Butchers and Ruby and White is transformed in the kitchens. There’s also a well curated wine list, including organic wines. We enjoyed a crisp French Sauvignon Blanc. My date very much enjoyed his big bowl of earthy, tasty celeriac soup, dotted with crunchy toasted seeds. He stayed with a vegetarian theme, choosing a fresh take on cauliflower cheese, served with truffle polenta, fresh asparagus, topped with a Parmesan crisp. Every plate had lots of interest, but with all flavours working well together. A simple but effective combo of roast corn fed chicken breast with Jersey Royal potatoes and whole baby carrots was given added oomph with a springlike thyme butter and a small caramelised onion and olive tart tucked under the chicken. Sometimes a chef, particularly in a pub, goes all out on the savoury dishes, paying less attention to the puds. Not here. How does this whet your appetite? A pale, trembling creamy pyramid of buttermilk pudding topped with a small crispy ginger meringue and sitting alongside a regally purple globe of blackcurrant sorbet and a triangle of light, lemony polenta? A beautiful arrangement that was a pleasure to de-construct and devour. There’s also a good cheeseboard, again keeping it local. The King William’s culinary crown, like the crown hanging outside over the pub sign, remains as bright and shiny as ever. n
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