Dear Fish Faces,
Fish-a-plenty and not a sausage in sight at The Old Butchers, Stow-on-the-Wold.
Day one of a three-night stay in Stow-on-the-Wold and after reading great reviews, off we headed to The Old Butchers. Luckily, we’d booked weeks in advance and as it turned out, we were glad we did.
The restaurant was fully booked. On arrival we were met with a warm welcome. “Come on in,” said a friendly-faced woman who greeted us as if we’d been at school together. “Welcome, welcome,” she said. “It’s a bit like trying to get into MI5 tonight.”
Having never tried to gain access to the UK’s intelligence service, we moved on from the comment and decided upon a glass of champagne for me, and a white peach Bellini for Sava.
Bish, bash, bouche
Not long after we’d settled into our cosy corner table, an amuse-bouche arrived. It was a nice touch. In front of us were two huge olives, a slice of sourdough bread and a little extra virgin olive oil dip. With our champagne, Bellini, and supersized olives, we looked like extras in a casino scene from an old Bond film.
Neither shaken nor stirred, we moved on to our starters. We’d both opted for the fish soup, bisque-style with the obligatory side of crispbread, little bowls of grated cheese and a mayo-type cream (one day I’ll check out what this actually is and if you’re meant to tip it all into the soup). Anyway, tipping it all in the soup is exactly what we did – and it was delicious.
The mains
For mains I went for Dover Sole, while Sava chose Cod, and Prawn tempura with a white sauce. We shared sides of chips and the fashionable cavolo nero.
The Dover Sole was thick and meaty, with a lovely Café de Paris herb butter, which melted slowly as I carefully prised the superb flesh away from the bone. The accompanying glass or three of cold Chenin Blanc was sublime, complementing the dish perfectly.
The menu at the Old Butchers’ is designed with a nose-to-tail ethos. It’s an admirable approach, one with minimum waste. We knew we had no room for pud, to have ordered would have truly been a waste.
Instead, we strolled back through the streets of Stow, congratulating ourselves on a great restaurant choice. Back at our weekend cottage, we finished off some chocolate orange mini buttons, bought from the artisan chocolatier we’ve stumble upon early that day.
I asked Sava about the Cod. “It was good – but I should stick to chicken,” he said. “I always like chicken.”
Personally, I found The Old Butchers to be a cut above the rest.
Sleep well,
Graham.