Mortimers is located at 17 Corve Street in Ludlow, previously home to the Michelin-listed The Oaks, the two-Michelin starred Hibuscus and the one-Michelin-starred La Becasse. It got its first name from the attractive oak panelling that gives the restaurant a feeling of classy rural style and with its well-judged lighting and crisp white tablecloths it is a very attractive setting to sit back and eat a six course lunch tasting menu (cost a remarkably good £50, an à la carte lunch can also be had for £35 which again represents very value. The service is excellent and I was delighted with the dishes served to me.
When I write, “I was delighted” it does not really make the point that every dish was excellent, hard to fault and pleasingly memorable. Notably it has a more British feel to it than many fine restaurants - trendy Japanese ingredients are absent and chef Chris O’Halloran really brings the feel of the Marches in particular and England in general to his cuisine. If only more could find a way to follow a similar path.
The meal started with three cracking little ‘snacks’ - a little bomb of cheese and a sedate and charming crab and vaguely sumptuous blini. There was an excellent selection of bread - brioche, sourdough and garlic served with three butters including a robustly tasty garlic butter.
The first starter was perhaps the least interesting course - nice slices of cold duck, a ballotine of duck which was a little short on flavour but the taste quotient was greatly upgraded by the third duck element which was a gorgeous silky parfait served on brioche all nicely complemented with various cherry elements and an orange jelly.
Next, there was a very happy goats cheese and beetroot dish - a number of fine elements - a beetroot meringue, a beetroot sorbet, pieces of beetroot and pickled beetroot with a goats cheese cream and little crackers to give texture. This was excellent.
The main course was what appeared to be a straightforward beef dish but which was much more than that - generously portioned, profoundly tasty and tender Herefordshire beef served with a devilishly tasty confit onion mash, splendidly roasted shallots - moist, charred and full of the right amount of bite - and a grilled baby leek which contributed its share to the overall flavour of the dish.
O’Halloran made a point of taking advantage of the closing days of the forced rhubarb season with a dessert of pistachio cake, a gorgeous vanilla cream, excellent pistachio ice cream and perfectly cooked rhubarb. Though I am not keen on a two dessert meal, I was not disheartened to be served with a very enjoyable chocolate dish with the flavour and texture of hazelnut and the soothing flavour of caramel ice cream.
I loved the presentation of the mignardises in a mini-brief case and what a pleasure they were - macaroon, fudge, chocolate.
This excellent lunch was strong evidence that O’Halloran’s Mortimers is a worthy successor to the fine restaurants which have proceeded it in that hoary old building and I look forward to visiting there again when I revisit Ludlow.
Rating:- 🌞🌞
