La Becasse

Ludlow has long had a reputation as a food lover’s destination thanks to restaurants such as The Merchant House, Mr Underhill’s and Hibiscus. Claude Bosi relocated his restaurant to London in 2007 and La Bécasse moved into the Corve Street property in July 2007 with Will Holland at the helm. The emphasis is on using seasonal and locally supplied ingredients where possible.

The restaurant is set out over two floors with the upstairs open as a casual drinking area. The oak-panelled dining room is formally set out with heavy cloths on all of the tables and comfortable velvet  chairs for the customers although the vibrant pink and brown striped carpet added a touch of frivolity to the starchy surroundings.

There are a number of options for lunch including a 2 or 3-course set lunch menu and an à la carte list. The gourmand menu is a six-course tasting menu while the option of a ten-course menu based on what the kitchen want to produce on a given day is also available.  A tray of hors d‘ouevres accompanied the menus so you could munch on salt and vinegar crisps, wasabi peas and peanuts or marinated olives while considering the options.

Having made the decision to go with the gourmand menu a chicken confit with sage & onion stuffing beignet was immediately delivered to the table. The finely ground mix inside the beignet definitely had you wanting more. Next to arrive was a delightfully presented metal baking tray with three varieties of bread rolls. The star of the three was the parmesan and onion bread with its rich cheesy base. Cumin was the dominant ingredient of the rosemary cumin bread and it was also very satisfactory. If it had been the only option, the poppyseed bread would have been perfectly fine but it was simply not as tasty or interesting as the other breads.

Listed on the menu as the Chef’s Appetiser, a small portion of curried carrot soup kicked things off properly. The smooth rich soup had a glorious depth of flavour thanks to the addition of caramel vinegar. The soup was dusted with toasted cumin and garnished with a sprig of young cilantro. This would be a very fine way to start any meal.

Fresh Devon crab was served with a spiced cod fish cake and pickled papaya salsa. The light fish cake had a cumin undertone that worked well with the crab. The salsa combined papaya with pickled cucumber, chives and light vinegar. The salsa and fish cake were real high points and overall the dish had a wonderful fresh feel to it.

The foie gras ballotine was served with toasted brioche, apricot purée, apricot chutney and crystallised almonds. The dish was topped with salad greens and pea shoots. The chutney was less vinegary than expected but the sweet apricot worked well with the foie gras. This was a nice course with a simple mix of flavours.

The fish course lifted things back up a notch. Pan-fried fillet of halibut was accompanied by basil pomme purée, mussel pistou, fennel salad and sauce vierge. The crispy-skinned fish was wonderful and there was an excellent mixture of flavours on the dish to work with it. The basil in the pomme purée was quite restrained and was much better as a result. The acidic sauce vierge under the fish added a rich partner for the fish whilst the fennel salad added fresh crunch. I was very happy with this dish.

The main meat course wasn’t far off a traditional Sunday lunch with its core of roast leg and braised shoulder of new season lamb. The lamb was accompanied by gratin potatoes with a herb crust, baby peas and broad beans. Digging further into the dish revealed braised cabbage under the peas. The tender leg of lamb was lovely but the wonderful rich flavour of the braised shoulder outshone it. The small dots of purée contributed bursts of intense pea flavour. This was an excellent way to close out the savoury dishes.

Pre-dessert was a glass with blueberry purée, thick vanilla foam and honeyed oats. This was a tasty dessert but unfortunately there just wasn’t enough of it.

The main dessert was a white chocolate cheesecake and strawberries (jam, jelly and sorbet). First thing that you noticed was the strong waft of strawberries as the plate was put down on the table. The cheesecake had a wonderfully tangy hazelnut and oat base. Strawberry sorbet served on honeycomb was the other highlight. This was a fine way to end a very satisfactory meal.

Overall verdict.
The food at La Bécasse was of a uniformly high standard. I’d possibly expected more innovation from what I’d previously read but the cooking treated all of the ingredients in each dish very sympathetically. This was an excellent tasting menu for lunch.

Would I revisit La Bécasse?
In a heartbeat. I always enjoy visiting Ludlow and it makes perfect sense to include a meal at La Bécasse during any stay there.


Overall Rating - 4/5