SEPTEMBER

R staurant
Recommended
picks
Recommended
Our latest restaurant recommendations – longer versions
and more at Omagazine.com – plus the hot new
joints to try and our regular street food spot
Table opping
THE LOCKSBROOK INN, BATH
A commercial estate on the outskirts of Bath might not seem like the obvious place to
go for dinner, but then The Locksbrook isn’t your average gastropub. The canal-side
inn, which opened in May, incorporates everything from a Georgian bar to a cosy
snug, restored restaurant spaces and a lavender-flanked terrace.
Chef Charles Mooyaart brings an international influence to the menu, which focuses
on sharing plates, street food, pizzette and vibrant salads. Conger eel is hot-smoked
here for a ‘seacuterie’ sharing plate, and chips are served with beurre noisette, chervil
and a sprinkling of parmesan. A must-order, Instagram-worthy hotdog is served with
subtly truffled sauerkraut, pokey green mustard, rock chives and yellow turmeric
onions (it’s an Amsterdam thing). Street food chilli turns out to be a rich and smoky
12-hour brisket with a nicely acidic twang accompanied by bulgar wheat, guacamole,
yogurt and tortillas. The beast of a food truck burger is similarly impressive; juicy and
well-seasoned, with a healthy slaw and a fizzy kimchi on the side.
‘Banoffee’ caused clashing spoons over the pools of dulce de leche, madeleines,
chocolate popping candy and flambéed banana. The Locksbrook Inn is the local that
keeps on giving. thelocksbrookinn.com (Words by Kate Authers)
THE UNRULY PIG, SUFFOLK
The Unruly Pig is half cosy pub (Persian rugs and a beamed ceiling) and half modern
ant, with charcoal-grey walls and terracotta leather banquettes. Begin with a
of Pump Street Bakery sourdough – we could gnaw away at those crusts all
ith sweet onion dip.
Arancini were just as they should be; golden and crisp on the outside with a
velvety molten filling. For mains, a whole sea bream (landed at nearby Lowestoft) was
and smoky – it had been licked by the flames of a charcoal-fired Inka grill
buttered Jersey Royals and crab on the side, a rich, creamy combination.
unruly burger, the bestseller, comes with punchy roquefort mayonnaise and
a crisp onion ring, wedged inside a sweet Pump Street brioche bun. It’s a messy affair and comes served with golden, salty, hand-cut chips.
A deconstructed eton mess was made up of little blobs of soft italian meringue, sharp rhubarb chunks and hard nuggets of golden
honeycomb. Good flavours, if a little hard on our teeth. theunrulypig.co.uk (Words by Charlotte Morgan)
LEGS, HACKNEY
Risque nudes, 70s-style macramé planters and glittery loos – it’s the latest restaurant in
Hackney’s fashion district. Sexy, cheeky (in every sense) and chic-industrial, Legs is the
brainchild of Aussie chef Magnus Reid (formerly of London’s Rooftop Café) and named after
the droplets of wine that form on the inside of a glass. Wine is as important as food here, and
the chilled-out team are keen to guide you through the biodynamic and producer-focussed list
(which, by the bottle, is on the pricey side but by glass is more palatable).
The small plates menu is supremely good value though, and a lesson in masterful restraint.
Explicitly creamy burrata joined only by bravely acidic Tropea onions, breadcrumbs and oil.
Smoked haddock soup was topped with matchsticks of Granny Smith apple and a smidge of
’nduja. Leeks vinaigrette, classic, was scattered with a rubble of hazelnuts. Dainty, pink lamb
cutlets sat on smoky aubergine purée, blistered chillies and fresh herbs. And, the highlight,
charred radicchio was drizzled in pomegranate molasses on a bed of cloud-like ricotta.
Fashions come and go but good food is here to stay in this, chill, neighbourhood restaurant.
legsrestaurant.com (Words by Laura Rowe)
PHOTOGRAPH: RUDDING PARK, ALEX CROSSLEY
92 Omagazine.com September 2016