The Butcher's Arms

One important thing to bear in mind when thinking about travel in England is to have a plan B in place because there’s always a good chance the weather will bite you. When police moved the much-anticipated Newport County v Hereford United game from the August bank holiday Monday, my plan was to revisit some of places in the Cotswolds we’d visited during childhood summer holidays. Secondary to that would be to find somewhere good to eat but a complicating factor was the number of restaurants that were likely to be closed on the day.

So rolling out of bed after a moderately boozy evening topped with killer pool and karaoke I was full of optimism and looking forward to day of reminders of what makes England special. And then I opened the curtains...... Thick grey cloud, cool temperatures and impressively dank drizzle had set the agenda for the day. Spend much time outdoors and all I was likely to achieve was a thorough soaking. So it was back on-line to find a lunch place close to Hereford and The Butcher’s Arms in Woolhope looked a likely candidate.

The Butcher’s Arms was taken over in 2009 by Stephen Bull who had previously run the Lough Pull Inn near Ross on Wye and prior to that owned Michelin starred restaurants in London. The emphasis is on using quality ingredients to produce quality British food.

The Butcher’s Arms is about 8 miles south-east of Hereford and is close to Ledbury and Much Marcle. However, it lies somewhat off the beaten track so it takes some finding. The pub is a gorgeous 16th century half-timbered building. As you raise the latch on the front door to step inside you enter a narrow hallway with optional blue hard hats available for the tall amongst us. I missed the first beam in the bar area effortlessly but focussing on the bar itself meant a lapse in concentration and my forehead met 9-inch thick beam with a solid thunk. Beers from Wye Valley Brewery were the main beer option leaving me wishing I didn’t have to drive back. The orange juice and lemonade I carried to my table was scant consolation.

The bar was a nice informal dining space and the lousy bank holiday weather meant that an open fire had been lit to give the pub a gentle wood-smoked aroma throughout. The cosy feel in the whole pub reinforced that it was the right place to be on a lousy day. The menu is fairly brief with six starters, seven mains and six desserts. Chosen starter was twice baked Gruyère soufflé with toasted almond sauce served on a bed of greens. Although pretty unprepossessing in terms of presentation this was a nicely satisfying starter based on taste. I could fairly happily have lived without the peppery greens but the soufflé was delightful. As it appeared, it looked physically dense but turned out to be nicely textured and light in the bite. A hint of nutmeg in the soufflé worked very well with the Gruyère. 

There was no doubt that the weather outside governed food choices. The main was a lovely hearty dish of pork, apple and fennel meatballs. The pink-cooked meatballs had wonderful flavour with the fennel a relatively subdued component, suiting my taste. The rustic tomato sauce was bursting with sweet acid flavour that the pork revelled in. Crisp sugar peas added crunch to the dish while the light polenta chips and the whole dish benefitted immensely from the inclusion of rosemary. 

Generous portions meant that choice of dessert had to be governed by what seemed to be lightest option. This meant that the apple crumble posset seemed a good candidate. The mildly flavoured apple posset was topped with coarse cinnamon crumble and garnished with mint. Cinnamon is not a flavour I particularly like so was much happier with the crumble out of the way so I could focus on the smooth, creamy posset at the base of the glass.

Overall verdict.
The Butcher's Arms is the sort of place I want to be within 5 minutes (10 at a push) of my house. Wye Valley beers and quality hearty food in comfortable surroundings with the option of open log fires in the winter. It’s also worth mentioning that the menu is very reasonably priced with three courses for £24.50.

Would I revisit The Butcher’s Arms?
Most definitely. With the prospect of regular trips to Hereford I hope I can make this a regular stop.

Overall Rating - 3.5/5