The last day in July and summer’s lease now started to feel as though it indeed had too short a date. I had had an eventful two or three days and I felt like I should reward myself for coping with it all by hailing an uber (not literally obviously) and zooming off to the wonderful pub with the Brontëesque name, the Wildmoor Oak Inn, near Bromsgrove, now very familiar to me and already a location which had given me some happy dining memories. Upmost in my mind was the summer special of crab and frites with aioli which I still had not got to eat but I thought this late afternoon just might be the day to enjoy what sounded like a fabulous repast. And so it proved to be.
Having been warmly greeted and seated in my favourite corner (I could have had an outside table to make the most of this lovely summer evening but outside dining is fraught with its own challenges though it was perhaps getting a little late in the day for pesky wasps to ply their trade) I chose the summer special cocktail, a strawberry daiquiri, and it proved to be the most deliciously flavoured strawberry thing out of all the strawberry things I had consumed this summer.
My starter was excellent, from the sheet of ‘specials’ of the day. It was a most generously sized serving of thick slices of gravad lax with sweet little crayfish, crispy sourdough and ribbons of sweetly pickled cucumber to set it all off. Summer’s lease was bringing great pleasure with it.
But of course, just as Charity was the greatest of its trinity (Faith, Hope and Charity), so the main course was the greatest of the three courses served that evening. Simple but gorgeous. A feast of dressed crab served in a crab shell, a magnificent burst of intense crabby flavour with every mouthful that had me purring with pleasure. Not a single hint of even the tiniest fragment of crab shell (and that does not happen everywhere) and accompanied by the simple citric contrast to the richness of the dish brought to the plate by a good wedge of lemon. There was as well a triumphantly enjoyable pot of aioli, its garlic flavour sweet and soothing and not stringent nor savage and the frites were very good.
After this feast I was replete and could not manage one of the formal desserts but instead I asked for some vanilla ice cream and espresso and put together a happy little affogato which rounded off this fine meal in a very satisfying way.
Still unrecognised by the Food Guides (which questions their validity), Wildmoor Oak Inn continues to deliver high calibre pub food which brings much happy pleasure to the diner.
Rating:- 🌞
31 July 2026.
No comments:
Post a Comment